Shaken Up
by Mirror and Image
Summary: [Complete] While taking the train home, Shuu's senses tell him something serious is going to happen. Will he and the other members on the train survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Shaken Up**

Mirror and Image

It was happening again.

Shuu looked down to his offending feet. The tingling was back again. Almost out of habit, he looked around to the other people packed into he subway car. None of _them_ were looking at their feet in confusion, which once again confirmed it was just him. He'd started feeling it three weeks ago; he'd described it to the others as how it felt when your foot was asleep, when circulation is completely cut of and, as you shake it to get feeling back, the prickly sensation of pins and needles attack the infected area.

He'd written it off the first few times, except the odd thing was that it only affected the souls of his feet, the heavily padded area that always touched the ground. It hurt more when socks or shoes were on; but it felt stronger when he was barefoot, especially when he was on natural earth. It was that discovery that made him think it was something to do with his armor, and he had immediately gone to the others.

Their reactions were all typical. Touma claimed no opinion until he visited podiatristss journals and websites to do some research; Shin thought he was just becoming more connected with his yoroi; Seiji thought it might have been a warning, of what he didn't know. Ryo said he hadn't felt anything in his yoroi (neither did the others), but he smiled and said he had every confidence that Shuu would figure it out.

The car started up, finally. He could hear the announcer in the distance telling passengers to get behind the yellow line as the metal snake began to move. Shuu wondered dimly what Naaza would say to that comparison. The tingling sparked again, and he again looked to his feet. They were coming in shorter and shorter intervals now as the Tokyu Toyoko train gained speed. Frustrated, he pulled off his sneakers and put them on the dirty floor of the subway car. Those next to him turned in curiosity, but all the saw was a shoeless man with his eyes closed.

Concentration was easy; focus was always the hard part. The noise of the train, the people around him, the smell of ramen and coffee, the caress of a shopping bag, were all very loud distractions. His brow furrowed, trying to center himself, mentally walking himself through tai chi exercises to open his mind.

When he started to smell the armor, to fell its weight on his shoulders, he mentally looked down at his tingling feet. The tingling, instead of lifting, sank itself further up his feet, stopping just below his ankles. It was like sand, almost. He got the clear picture of desert sand blowing up and burying his feet; each grain was moving, shaking as it continued to blow.

...Shaking?

"My God, it's an earthquake!"

* * *

This is a Round Robyn fic we started on a message board we frequent: Samurai Fanservice. Updating will be dependant on how the fic is robined, of course, but it's a cool idea, and we're going to have fun seeing where it goes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Shuu plunged to his knees, putting his hand on the floor of the subway car. He had to be sure. The moving sands sensation immediately enveloped his hand, rising to his wrist. Someone in the far distance was asking if he was alright, but it was all at the edge of his perspective, all focus and concentration on the sands, what they were doing.

The shaking was becoming stronger and stronger; then the sands shot up to his knees and elbow. It was like he was being buried alive. The shaking was almost violent.

Then, without warning, the shaking stopped, the sand hardened.

And then it cracked.

"_Everybody get down! **Earthquake**_!" Had he had time, Shuu would have been surprised at the size and volume of his bellow. The entire car turned to him in shock even as he grabbed the three nearest him: a high school boy, a middle aged woman, and an old man; and pulled them to the floor of the car, diving on top of them.

No sooner had he done so that everything exploded. The sound of the emergency brakes plummeted onto the car; people everywhere flew backwards and forewords. Coffee spilled on his jacket, filling his nostrils and burning the back of his neck. The shaking that Shuu had been feeling on his senses now assaulted his reality. Everything was shaking. The lights flickered and went off. Screams were everywhere, ranging in cries for family or loved once to curses of surprise to oaths of anger to guttural releases of panic. To add to the deafening symphony of chaos was the low, terrifying sound of bending metal. Glass shattered from the window, littering the people-covered car with bits of shrapnel. Blood filled Shuu's sense of smell, something slicing through the sensitive membrane of his nostril. A thunderous thud sounded from above combined again with the keening of warping metal. Something slammed against his lower back and hips, and smoke finally worked its way past the smell of blood.

Shuu was later told that the earthquake lasted only thirty seconds. He laughed and said it was the longest thirty years of his life.

When all was finally quiet, Shuu looked up slowly, assessing himself. Aside from the sliced nose, he had somehow twisted (sprained?) his wrist and; finally daring to look behind, saw that a roofing panel had half landed on him, still connected to what was left of the roof itself. His hip was killing him, but he could still feel his legs and move them. For that he thanked whoever was looking out for him.

The three beneath him were uninjured, though the old man was coughing horribly. Widening his scope, he saw dirt and dust everywhere. Somehow the emergency lights were still on, casting everything in an ugly red shade. People were getting up slowly, blood and grit covering everyone. The car was twisted, but thankfully intact aside from the one tile that had fallen on him. Beyond that, however, was what stopped the adrenaline in Shuu's system and replaced it with dread.

The concrete tube they had been traveling in was littered with cracks; dirt was spilling here and there.

They were who-knew how many feet underground in a tunnel that would, at a time indeterminate, cave in on them.

"Oh, my god," someone whispered. "How are we going to get out of here?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter by Venka**

"Thank you young man," Shuu heard below him. Looking down below him he saw the woman whom he had protected.

"Y...You're welcome," Shuu said. He would have been glad everyone was alright but his thoughts were more on how they were going to get everyone out. The way the old man was coughing sounded serious.

Two of the other passengers lifted up the ceiling panel enough so that Shuu and the three people trapped under him were able to get up.

The speakers crackled to life as the person driving the train spoke.

"Hello passengers," the subway conductor said; his voice was grim. "We have just suffered through a bad earthquake. I ask that everyone remain calm. There should be speakers on either end of each car. I want someone designated to tell me the condition of how things are fairing with each car. I have contacted dispatch. But it will take time to reach us."

Shuu got to his feet he noticed that his left ankle hurt slightly. More then likely a hairline fracture. As long as he could still walk on it, it would be fine.

"Sir," a man said from next to his pregnant wife. "Sir you warned us about the earthquake. We owe you our lives." Everyone nodded. Shuu knew they wanted him to be the person who delivered the overall situation. His hand reached into his pocket and he clasped his kanji orb as though it would give him the answers he sought. His eyes traveling to the emergency releases for the doors, but the sound of crackling electricity outside told him it would be wiser not to.

"Someone could you please check on this person," Shuu said indicating the old man he had managed to save. A younger man got up and got to work. Shuu made his way over to the speaker and pressed the button to talk.

"This is car 1412," Shuu said "Everyone here is more or less fine."

"This man is having a heart attack!" said the person who was attending to the old man. Shuu pressed the button again.

"Check that, one of the passengers is having a heart attack," Shuu said though his eyes nearly bugged out as he noticed the pregnant woman was breathing as though she was in pain and liquid was pouring out from between her legs.

"And a woman is going into labor," Shuu said.


	4. Chapter 4

"Understood," the man at the other end replied, "we're sending engineers to each car to do head counts and assess damages. The electricity should cut off... now."

True to the voice's word, the crackling sound stopped and everything plunged into darkness. Shuu's eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, and it was not long before someone dug up emergency flashlights and started turning them on.

Turning around, Shuu appraised his situation. The two biggest attention getters were the old man and the pregnant woman. "Okay," he said slowly but clearly, "is there anyone here who has some medical experience?"

"I don't," a woman in a business suit said, raising her hand, "but I've had three children. Let me through."

One problem dealt with, Shuu made his way back to the old man. The high school boy was over him, pulling at the soiled shirt to allow the man to breathe. "Come on, Jii-san, this is nothing, right?" Old man

Shuu put a hand on the old man's forehead and tilted it back, keeping his mouth and throat clear before bending down and putting an ear to the chest. "His heartbeat is erratic," he observed. "How do we calm him down?" The high schooler pulled at his bag and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. Remembering that it was supposed to help the heart, Shuu helped the boy ease it into the man's throat and made him swallow with a bottle of water that the boy also supplied.

"You? What's your name?" Shuu asked.

"Kiyose."

"Good. Kiyose, stay with him and keep him comfortable." Having done all that he could think of, he stood up - not without pain in his hip and ankle - and limped his way back to the pregnant woman.

"It's only her first contraction," the business woman said before Shuu could even ask the question. "We've already started timing her contractions. It'll be tight if they get below twenty minutes apart, but we should have time before then."

"Good," Shuu said.

Several people were crying; breaking down at the situation they were placed under. Several others were furiously working their cell phones, trying to contact people outside; not understanding that communication lines were overflowing with traffic. One person, annoyingly, was taking pictures of everything, muttering about selling them and making money. Others still were shouting at each other, their panic leading to anger. Over all the noise, Shuu almost didn't hear the knock. Hobbling over, Shuu pulled the doors, forcing them open against their hydraulics and the protests of his injured body. Dryly, he observed that the doors to the Youjakai had put up more of a fight.

A crewman was standing there with a first aid kit in his hand.

"The old man is over there," Shuu explained as he hoisted the worker up. "He's in the worst shape. We've given him aspirin, and Kiyose, the boy, is looking after him."

"Okay," was the reply, and the crewman quickly went to work.

Shuu took advantage of the opportunity and hopped out into the tunnel. He wanted to assess the damage to the tunnel, to see if his armor could even _do_ that and hopefully find a way out of here - his first priority. Climbing up a pile of rubble, Shuu placed his hands firmly on the cracked walls of the tunnel. Dirt was showering lightly onto his head, but that only served to give him focus as he again threw his senses to the earth around him.

He saw the micro first, feeling every grain of dirt and concrete around his hands. It was like he was looking at a giant sifter; everything was moving slightly, shifting, but not near the bottom - where the sands would fall to oblivion. Not liking that mental comparison, Shuu pulled his senses out, trying to get a feeling of his immediate surroundings.

The tunnel itself was in decent condition. The train was off-track, its wheels deeply ingrained into the battered concrete of the tunnel; it was impossible to move, meaning it was not an option. Two hundred feet behind him the tunnel had collapsed completely. Shuu turned to the tunnel in front of him, seeing that it continued on and on. Bits of rubble were everywhere, and there was not a single square foot of unmarred concrete, but overall it was intact. Two kilometers up, the overhead was weak. Pushing himself, Shuu tried to assess when it would collapse. Two hours, perhaps three. If they pushed they could make it. Half a kilometer beyond that was a station, and it led up above ground with no incident. Shuu could feel the footsteps of hundreds of people, all of them trying to get above ground; and as his senses continued to expand to the macro, he could _feel_ what the people were doing across the city of Yokohama, where the crowds were, the buildings that were structurally weak, the influx of traffic and noise.

This caused a thought, and Shuu turned his mind east to Tokyo. The further he traveled, the less noisy it became. Good, the earthquake was centered on Yokohama only. It was harder to shrink his senses after seeing such a huge scope, but Shuu finally tightened his focus and found what he was looking for: Ryo's apartment building. It took some trial and error, but Shuu finally worked his way up the concrete to Ryo's apartment. Ryo was there, thank goodness, pacing. Of course, Shuu thought wryly, he was probably doing what he did best: worrying.

"Ryo?"

The footsteps paused. Had he heard?

"Ryo? If you can, send a call to a hospital or a police station or something that the Tokyu Toyoko line is trapped underground. We're two and a half kilometers from the nearest station, and I'm going to try to get everyone there and--"

"Sir?"

The concentration shattered completely, Shuu returned to the world around him almost painfully. His head was throbbing, and he put two fingers on his forehead - chakra centers - to relieve the pressure.

"Yeah?"

"Were your hands just... what were you doing?"

"I guess you could say I was... appraising things." Shuu turned around and saw the crewman. "How's the old man?"

"He... didn't make it."

Shuu's headache seemed to double, and he visibly winced. Could he have done something differently? Could he have saved the old man? How? But Shuu had done everything he could think of, and for now that would have to do until he had time to process, to decompress, to get out of here. Shuu took a deep breath, bracing himself for... everything.

"Okay. The next station is two and a half kilometers from here, right?"

"Yes," the crewman said. "The tunnel's caved in behind us, so we'll have to go forward and hope for the best."

"I know," Shuu said, already starting to limp to the head of the train. "Look, the roof of the tunnel is really weak two kilometers up, it'll be a hike because of the rubble, but if we can cross from under there in, say, under two hours, we'll be all clear to the station. How many injured are there?"

"We were lucky, only about a dozen. Considering we have two hundred people on this train, that's a very good percentage. The old man is the only casualty so far. Sir, where are you going?"

"I want to talk to the conductor, let him know where the trouble spots are." Arriving, he pulled himself up to the head of the train. The conductor turned, looking up from something.

"What on earth? He's a civilian!"

Oh, one of those, Shuu thought, rolling his eyes internally. He explained everything quickly, where the major potholes were, the weak roofing, the station, and the overall flow of everything above them.

"How on earth did you deduce this? You're guessing, lying, something." The conductor was clearly not happy; Shuu suspected that it was because he was loosing control of the situation.

"You can think whatever you like," Shuu said patiently. "But honestly, what harm could there be in taking my information seriously? If I'm wrong, we're no worse off than when we go in blind. If I'm right, we save ourselves several headaches. Now, for what it's worth, I recommend using your crewmen as team leaders, or something like that, and helping everyone out of the cars one at a time so we can start migrating. You were going to do that originally anyway. Right?"

The conductor said nothing.

"Right?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter by Ironstar**

Shuu could hear the crackle of the walkie-talkies that the crews used to communicate with the conductor. The crews carefully and methodically told people to remain calm and to quickly though carefully make their way to the station.

Shuu noticed some people being left behind in the train cars.

"Why aren't they going?" Shuu asked one of the crew workers.

"They're too infirmed to go, they have to stay here until that tunnel is stabilized and help is able to reach them," the crew man said with an air that said these people were not his concern. "They would only slow us down."

"But it could be too late by then!" Shuu said. Shuu wished Seiji had been around. He would have been able to help the injured people. Maybe even that unfortunate old man who had been saved only to die of a heart attack moments later. "The ceiling ahead is weak and can collapse in a couple of hours. They'll be trapped and possibly crushed before help arrives. Ask some of the passengers to carry them if they can't walk on their own."

"I don't know how you know these things. However, I'm following protocol sir," the crew man said. "I understand your upset, but do you want the lives of many jeopardize for a scant few?"

"Screw your stupid protocol!" Shuu nearly yelled and would have if he didn't know what danger that would have added to the situation. "One person is dead already, a death that could possibly have been prevented. I would rather no one on this train die today. There is a woman in labor a few cars from here. Should her child be born only to die?"

"Infants do die," the crewman said. "Now join the other civilians. There is nothing that can be done."

Shuu got into the crowd of distraught and frightened people who were being led up the tunnel. Shuu however made his way to the car with the pregnant woman. The woman's husband hadn't left nor had the business woman who had been tending to the woman. A crew member was trying to shepherd the man and woman into leaving the train.

"This woman can't be left behind," the business woman said.

"I'm sorry I can't allow you folks to stay," the crewman said. "She will have to make do with out you. But once the tunnel is stabilized I will make sure she is the first one out."

"Yoshirin," the woman called to her husband. "Leave and save yourself."

"I can't do that Imiko," Yoshirin said. "You and our child mean too much to me. I rather die along side you both then let you die alone." The crew man grabbed Yoshirin's arm.

"Sir, come along now!" The crew man demanded. "There's nothing that can be done at this moment."

"Right, so mother and child could die in child birth," Shuu gruffly said.

"Young man, why aren't you leaving with the other civilians?" the crewman demanded.

"I'm not leaving any one behind!" Shuu said. "Anyone on this train who is injured, disabled, elderly, or in this case in delivery deserve a chance to be safe just like everyone else on this goddamn train!" Kiyose, who had been into much shock after seeing a man die, looked up.

"Sir, get back in with the civilians or so help me I can have you arrested for obstruction," the crew man barked.

"How far apart are her contractions?" Shuu asked. This situation reminded him of when his sister Chun Fa had been born. His mother wailing in the pangs of labor while ahead of them was backed up traffic because there had been a head-on collision half a mile away. Finally his father asked how far apart the contractions were before he pulled over to the side and told Shuu to take his brothers and sister and run to the where the accident was and tell any one who looked like a police officer or paramedic that their mother was in labor, and to watch out for cars.

"They're starting to get into the twenty minutes range," the business woman said.

"Kuso," Shuu cursed. The thought of calling forth his sub armor and running the pregnant woman to station crossed his mind but he figured that would be too risky for the infant's health. Finally he sighed and said. "Put her on my back," Shuu said.

"Nani?" the crewman said.

"This woman can't walk on her own right now," Shuu said. "So let me be her legs and carry her to the station."

"That would be too risky," the business woman said.

"What choice do we have?" Shuu asked. "Is it better to leave her here?"

Kiyose and Yoshirin helped Imiko onto Shuu's back making sure he had a firm hold on her. The business woman followed behind knowing it to be a long journey.


	6. Chapter 6

As Shuu walked down the tracks, he was pleased to notice that several other passengers refused to leave people behind. Makeshift stretchers were created; people were carried, slung over a shoulder, anything it took.

"Okay," Shuu said loudly, drawing looks as he and the pregnant woman on his back made it to the head of the cars. "We have to make it to the station in roughly two hours. It's a two and a half kilometer walk and the tunnel should be pretty stable until we get near the station. Then the opening leading up will automatically have weakened the structure, so when we get there, we're going to have slow down and go quietly. The last thing we'll need to do is trigger a cave in."

The conductor scowled. "That's why the more injured ones should be left behind," he grumbled. "If this section is stable, then they'll be fine."

Shuu glared. "And leave people to starvation? Suffocation? Are you really so callous?"

"I'm in charge here, not you!" the conductor snapped back.

"Then act like it and _think_," Shuu replied. "Even if you do have some sort of point, are you really going to be able to manage these people in some sort of emergency when you've already condemned people to die?"

The woman on his back mumbled something and Shuu took longer strides to get away from the troublesome conductor. A normal labor would take several hours, but Imiko's water broke with the crash and her contractions were already almost twenty minutes apart. That wasn't good. It was going to be a complicated birth. Yoshirin seemed to understand that things weren't well and kept up with Shuu's pace, rubbing his wife's back with his good hand, offering quiet words of comfort.

"Kiyose," Shuu called out. The boy appeared by his side, his face etched in grief and sadness. No doubt he'd never watched someone die before, let alone hold the person as he took his last breath.

"I need you to check in with everyone. Get a list of injuries, how they've been treated. Make sure that for every severe injury; there are two people nearby to assist in some way, shape, or form."

"But I..." Shuu grimaced. The high school student was just barely dealing with all of this and being asked to do more. Shuu couldn't blame him for wanting to deal with it, but they didn't have time. Shuu knew he could trust Kiyose to do what was needed, but the grief and stress of the incident would have to be dealt with later.

"Believe me, Kiyose-kun," Shuu murmured. "I know exactly where you are right now. When we get through this, come find me in Chinatown of Yokohama, and I'll help you get through it. But right now, we have to deal with these people, or we won't get to being able to deal with it."

"How...?" Kiyose asked. "If you've done this before, how do you get through this? That old man just died in my arms! I couldn't help him. I couldn't save him..."

"But you can save others," Yoshirin said firmly. "Do as this young man says. By doing so, you'll have saved the lives of those who need help."

"One step at a time," Shuu said. "This isn't just an entrance exam. This is a hell of a lot more. You can't deal with all of it now. It's traumatic, and you can only deal with small pieces at a time. It will probably take years, but we don't have that right now. So instead, people push it aside and address immediate concerns. And if survival isn't an immediate concern, I don't know what is."

The student frowned, but nodded, scurrying off.

A different crewman came up to Shuu. "Sir, how do you know about the tunnel?"

"I know earth," Shuu replied. "Just trust me on this." There was no way he could explain Suzunagi's armor, or his elemental connection with all the rock, concrete, and soil around them. "I was able to call a friend and he'll have emergency crews when we get there." I hope. Unfortunately, with so many people around, Shuu couldn't test out his armor again to finish telling Ryo what was going on. There was no doubt that the Fire Trooper was worrying himself sick, but Ryo was reliable; even more so than Shuu was. There would be crews where they needed to be.

"Very well sir. Your orders?" Well finally, a crewman who wasn't as snobbish as the conductor was.

"Help Kiyose. Make sure that injured people have at least two people to help them out."

"Right away sir."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter by Venka and Ironstar  
**

Imiko whimpered in pain, her baby's struggles were becoming all the more desperate and if she didn't stop to bring the child into the world the child could be a still born.

Shuu could feel the pregnant woman stiffen as her uterus contracted. They were already a quarter of the way to the station. But the infant was insisting it be born now or else mother and child could die.

Shuu knelt down carefully. Yoshirin who had remained at his wife's side also knelt.

"Is something wrong?" Yoshirin asked.

"We need to get this baby delivered now," Shuu said. "Or else your wife and child won't make it." The business woman who had been following them helped Yoshirin take the pregnant woman off of Shuu's back. Leaning Imiko against the wall the business woman pushed open the pregnant woman's legs. Not having sufficient light she carefully felt around Imiko's area to see how far along the baby was. Sure enough the baby's head was crowning.

"You stopped just in time, young man. We're going to need a shoe string and some water if possible," said the business woman. "Ma'am, your baby's head is crowning. I need you to push with everything you have. This will hurt horribly, but please bear with me. Sir, could you please sit behind your wife? She's going to need all the support possible." Shuu undid his shoes and left the shoe laces available. As well as his shoes since they were too much of a hindrance with out the laces.

Imiko pushed. The pain was unbearable. It felt like she was dying, the very core of her being drained away as she tried to squeeze the tiny life from between her thighs.

Shuu, not wanting to witness the scene, went off to see how Kiyose was doing with his task. And also to see if anyone had water with them.

* * *

"How far has she been in her pregnancy?" asked the business woman as she helped guide the little head out into the world. 

"We had a little over a month left." Yoshirin said. "Will this affect the baby at all?"

"Being born prematurely will have its negative effects. Do you have anything that can keep the little one warm until we have a doctor look at him?" The business woman said. It being a warm day Yoshirin hadn't brought a jacket. He only prayed that things would work out for the best.

Shuu sighed. Only a few people had some water bottles they could spare. Of the invalids only about half of them were disabled or elderly. Two others had broken their hips. Three teenagers had broken their ankles in the crash. One of them tore their Achilles tendon. Five people had broken either one or both their legs. On person had a slipped disk and another had broken neck. Kiyose was doing an excellent job tending to people. At that moment he was caring a little girl who had been separated from her mother and was suffering from a twisted ankle.

Shuu didn't mind that he was limping down a dank and dirty tunnel bare foot. It gave him a way to feel the earth without looking to strange.

"Okay, one more push should do it," the business woman said. Imiko screeched as her she felt her nether regions tear as the tiny bundle slid from her body before she fell over exhaustedly into her husband's arms.

Shin scrabbled at his eyes while he tried to stay focused. He strongly disliked math but in biology the subject was very important.

At that moment the phone rang. Shin didn't know whether to curse or thank the person for the distraction. He was of the mind to ignore it but yet he had a feeling that he should pick it up.

"Hello?" he answered finally picking up the minor annoyance.

"Shin..." Ryo said on the other line.

"Ryo? What's up?" Shin asked. He could tell from Ryo's voice that something had to be wrong.

"There was an earthquake in the Yokohama area," Ryo said. "A subway train's crashed below the tunnel. Shuu was on the train."

"Shuu?" Shin said. "Is he alright?"

"He is for now," Ryo answered "I contacted Seiji and Touma already since they're the farthest away. Seiji unfortunately was teaching a class so I had to leave the message with his younger sister."

"Have you called the police about the crash?" Shin asked.

"No," Ryo answered sheepishly. "I wasn't at the crash site and it would lead to many questions about how I knew about it since I'm nowhere near the crash."


	8. Chapter 8

The birth gave everyone an unexpected boost of morale, and everyone - even the asshole conductor - crowded around to see the baby and the happy couple. 

Shuu took the break to lean against a giant hunk of concrete. His hip was killing him, to say nothing of the hairline fracture below on his leg. Even he could see the swelling, and he was grateful for the opportunity to rest. The smell of blood had long since faded, but every time his mouth or nose twitched he felt the sharp sting of the sensitive membrane that had been sliced.

He put his palms flat against the concrete, closing his eyes and deepening his breath. His head started to throb slightly, in rhythm to the moving earth around him. His scope went from micro to macro quicker than last time, and soon he was trying to find Ryo's apartment.

"Ryo?"

The pacing he came upon stopped. "Shuu? Shuu! I've called Shin and the others. We're trying to get to you. You said the Toyoku line, right? Where?"

Shuu paused, assessing where he was in the path of the train. "We're a kilometer and a half from the station. Another click and the structure is really weak. We have about thirteen injured, ranging from moderate to serious. I want to try to get us all past it before it collapses."

"Is there anyway you can secure it? If you can talk through the earth, if you sensed the earthquake - I assume that was the tingling in your feet - then can you solidify it?"

"I... don't know." Shuu took a big breath, pulling back to the tunnel. He turned his senses forward to the weak tunnel. A hand rose, pushing and coaxing, trying to shift the sands and minerals and earth. If he could shimmy it so that the weight wasn't focused on the cracked roof, if he could fortify the walls, maybe that would give him, them, everyone, some time.

He heard Kiyose's voice dimly in the background, so far away. It felt like his fingers were tingling, every grain of sand and dirt responding to his twitch and gesture. His head was pulsing and his eyes were burning; he had the ability but he didn't have the stamina or the experience. He almost didn't notice the all-too-familiar tingling and shaking of his bare feet.

"Shuu-san!"

Snapped back to reality, Shuu looked up to Kiyose, the student's face blanched.

"What!" Shuu demanded.

"Uh... we're... getting ready to go. Imiko-san and Yoshirin-san are fine." The student paused, struggling to say something. "Shuu-san, your hands were..."

"It's nothing," Shuu said, only half listening as he stared at his feet. The sands feeling sank up to his ankles. He knew what that meant.

"**_Aftershock!_**" Grabbing Kiyose, he threw the boy to the ground and dove on top of him, in an eerie repetition of earlier.

The trembling began, and that was when things got really complicated.


	9. Chapter 9

The ground once more turned unsteady. People screamed as bits of dirt, dust, and concrete fell from the ceiling. Shuu could once more feel the earth around him shake as if it was an hourglass being shaken violently. Acting on some strange instinct, Shuu put his hands flat on the ground and let them sink into the sands, and the concrete. Lower and lower he reached, until he felt the very source of the original earthquake: the shifting magma under the earth's plate.

_Argh! I can't work with magma!_ So instead, Shuu shifted the earth himself, trying to provide sandy buffers to absorb the shaking better than solid rock was taking it. In the middle of trying to force things around, he suddenly felt very small. Like he was out of his body and couldn't find his way back. Scared witless, Shuu let his senses quickly return to the subway tunnel. That wasn't a good sign. He really _didn't_ have the stamina for so much manipulation at once.

"Shuu-san!"

Shuu blinked. Kiyose sounded somewhere between worried and scared.

Oh...

His hands were still in the ground. And he had Suzunagi's under gear on. He'd put on armor. Well this was going to make things complicated. Shifting the sands around his them, he pulled his hands out as if the ground was water, staring at his gauntlets. He didn't quiet believe that he had his undergear on - he never remembered putting it on.

But he had his under gear on. Blinking again, he looked around. People were staring at him. Backing away from him.

"Well this complicates things," he grumbled. Bowing to the people, Shuu said, "Could you excuse me for a moment?" Sitting up and getting off Kiyose, who stared at him slack-jawed, Shuu shifted his thoughts to the ground once more, placing his hands on the cracked and crumbled concrete. His view went from micro to macro as he felt his way to Ryo's apartment once more.

"Ryo?"

"Shuu!" Worried steps stopped once more. "What's going on now?"

"Well, my new armor has lots of new powers, but I'm running through it too quickly. I don't have the stamina for this."

There was a thunk. Ryo no doubt sitting down heavily like he usually did when problems started to get out of his ability to control.

"The tunnel up ahead has collapsed. I might be able to do something in full armor, but I'm already getting stared at for my undergear."

"You had to armor up?"

"No choice."

Ryo sighed, sympathizing with Shuu's position.

"Ryo, the source of the aftershocks and the earthquake are the magma under the plate. I can buffer it with sand, but I can't stop the magma. It's boiling and moving like crazy."

Ryo stood quickly, his feet hitting the floor hard. "I'll take care of it Shuu. You focus on getting those people out of there. Conserve your strength." His steps thudded as Ryo started to move around his apartment. "Save it for when you get to the blockage. I'll call you this time, or one of the others will."

"Thanks Ryo..."

Shuu sighed, falling forward, feeling very tired. His head felt like there was a jackhammer pounding on it, and his hip was throbbing like nothing before.

"Shuu-san..."

"Kiyose? Everyone? We have a problem up ahead..."


	10. Chapter 10

Everyone was staring. 

That was to be expected, Shuu supposed as he shifted and crossed his legs under him. The pain in his hip and leg were significantly reduced but not eliminated. He stared back, not entirely sure what to do. Kiyose was still next to him, shaking, obviously trying to digest what he had just seen. Behind several sets of feet, Shuu could see the new parents, Imiko and Yoroshin, holding their newborn and looking at him with shock. The business woman - Shuu still didn't know her name, was standing with a crewman in front.

Shrugging his shoulders, Shuu did what he always did: he opted for the truth. "That last aftershock just collapsed the tunnel up ahead, where the overhead was already weak. That makes things complicated but not impossible."

"Bull." The conductor stepped forward, and oddly crazed look in his eyes. Several of the train passengers started murmuring, muttering. The volume was quickly increasing, the sure sign of panic. "_You_ caused this. You're a demon or something, and you're trying to kill all of us."

The crowd seemed more than happy to agree, all their fear and anger turned to him. Someone threw a rock and clipped Shuu's head. Blood seeped from the wound, but did little real damage; after all, it was stone.

Irritated, Shuu stood - causing the developing mob to step back, uncertain what the demon would do. "Alright. We could argue about this until we run out of air if you want; we could duke it out physically and you can find out just how strong I can be if I have to and I can feel guilty about being forced to hurt you; you could panic and cause even more injuries amongst yourselves; or you could just _trust_ me when I say that I not only have nothing to do with the earthquake, but I've been trying to _prevent_ it. I've done nothing but bend over backwards to help everyone here, and that's what I'm going to continue to do, whether you like it or not. What's your choice?"

There was a tense silence. Shuu wasn't used to being in charge; he'd often left things like that to Ryo or Touma or Shin, or even Rinfi with the kids. It made him uncomfortable. But, he thought ironically, he wasn't without some great role models. As the seconds ticked by into minutes he simply waited for the decision.

Kiyose, next to him, stood. "You _have_ done everything to help us. I'll do anything you ask. What do you want me to do?"

Taking that as his answer, Shuu nodded. "Check on the wounded first, make sure nothing's gotten worse, and then cycle around to see if there are new injuries."

The business woman and the crewman walked up. "Shall we help?" she asked.

"What's your name, anyway?" Shuu asked.

"I'm Kushinage," the woman said, just as the crewman replied, "My name is Nijirou."

"Alright," Shuu said, putting an armored hand to his forehead to wipe blood away. "Kushinage-san, help Kiyose. Nijirou, see if you can organize the other crewmen into groups and have them watch over sets of people. The last thing we need is to accidentally loose someone along the way. Also," he added, looking up. "I see some water pipes up here. See if you can find someone willing to scout ahead, make sure nothing's leaking after all the shake ups."

"Yes, sir!"

The conductor looked appalled. "You're going to listen to a demon? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, sir," the crewman Nijirou said, "Unless you count this irrational urge to survive."

That made Shuu smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

It was hard to concentrate. It was always hard to concentrate when Ryo knew for a fact that the others were in danger. He was a reactionary person, a knee that jerked whenever something hit it. To deliberately move was not something that came naturally. The mental picture of Shuu trapped under a huge boulder, bleeding and helpless, didn't help either. Ryo forcibly reminded himself that Shuu was perfectly capable of handling himself, and again tried to concentrate.

Lighting another match, Ryo focused on it, watching its tiny flame dance back and forth as he exhaled, trying to imagine it miles below the surface, churning and causing trouble for his dear friend. The connection just wasn't, well, connecting. He couldn't feel the heat and fire around him the way Shuu had been feeling the impending earthquake for weeks. The match continued to burn down, blackening his nails and burning his fingers. It was then that Ryo finally started to feel the heat underneath him. It was very far away.

He looked down, reaching out physically and mentally to the warmth; wanting, _willing_ to get closer to him. It felt like his consciousness was plummeting, falling through the floors of his building and into the claustrophobic expanses of the earth. He would never understand - yet know intimately well - why Shuu was so drawn to the heavy element.

When he reached the magma, it took a moment for Ryo to fully understand his surroundings. It had currents and backflows, like water, boiling back and forth. It was such a spectacular pattern Ryo was mesmerized, just staring at its beauty before that annoying image of Shuu reasserted itself. He chastised himself for his lack of responsibility and immediately got to work.

Touma discretely landed on a rooftop. That was about all the discretion he had, however, as he ran full tilt towards the door and burst through it, taking steps two or even three at a time. He paused for the span of two seconds to get his bearings before taking off again. He'd spanned three blocks before he finally found what he'd wanted - a station of the Yokohama train. He screeched to a halt as he found the train map. The train left at 4:00, fifteen minutes later the quake has struck. With that he used the speed of the train to calculate how far Shuu must have traveled before the train stopped; and then took into account Shuu's comment about being two and a half kilometers from the next station. It took maybe half a minute to do all this and then find the expected location on the map.

Good, he was at the right station.

Belying the cries of protest and exclamations about his sanity, Touma leapt down to the track and sprinted down into the tunnel. Ryo sent word that the tunnel had collapsed, and Touma was determined to do anything in his power to fix that particular problem.

Seiji cancelled classes early; several students had received text messages and calls that there had been an earthquake in Yokohama, and many worried about friends and family in the area. Seiji, too, had concern about Shuu, but steadfastly reminded himself that _Shuu_ in an _earthquake_ was by definition nothing to worry about.

Satsuki was waiting outside the changing room.

"Ryo-nii-san called. He said to contact him, that it's very urgent." Seiji nodded, walking in brisk steps to the dojo phone. The phone connected and rang at Ryo's apartment. Given that Ryo had called and asked for Seiji to contact him, Seiji _knew_ that his worrisome friend would be waiting by the phone on pins and needles.

Needless to say, the fact that Ryo wasn't answering was...disconcerting. Seiji waited five more rings before deciding to hang up and try again.

Still no answer. Not good. Not good at all. "Come on, Ryo. Where are you?"

Seiji finally hung up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ryo was worried about something, clearly enough to call him in the middle of class when he knew Seiji hated interruptions. Not getting Seiji, Ryo must have called someone else. Picking up the phone again, he dialed Touma. Similarly, there was no answer. Shuu also didn't pick up.

Now openly scared, Seiji dialed Shin with desperation in his fingers.

"Seiji?"

"Shin! What's going on? Ryo left a message, but now he and Touma and Shuu won't answer."

"Seiji," Shin said in a frustrated tone. "Have you turned on a TV or a radio? There was a major earthquake in Yokohama; Shuu was caught in a subway train and now he's stuck underground. The tunnel's blocked off and he's already in under gear in front of all the passengers. I think Touma's on his way to the station. Ryo said something about trying to move magma. I'm worried out of my mind!! Seiji? Seiji?"

His body was completely still. Nothing moved, he wasn't even sure he was breathing; but inside his body he was shaking. Violently. Too many pulses were racing through his neural pathways; nothing was going anywhere, connecting to nothing. Something heavy fell into the pit of his stomach, dragging it down even while his heart was rising higher and higher into his throat. The world was very, very far away, and he had to fight to acknowledge Shin with a near silent, "Ah." He sank deeper into his mind, everything going quiet as shock overtook him, his being wanting to find Shuu, to see if he was alright, to convince himself that this wasn't really true, that this wasn't happening.

Seiji looked down and saw that he'd hung up the phone at some point. The world was slowly coming back to him.

Shuu was in trouble. Seiji had to act.

The light sound of footsteps were lightning quick as he raced to the door.

Shuu was still having trouble dealing with the loss of his anonymity. Upwards of a dozen people were constantly throwing glances his way as he half walked, half limped down the path. Kiyose and Kushinage flanked him, having somehow become second's to him. The ground was becoming increasingly difficult and rubble-strewn. Several times they had to stop and help the injured over or around a particularly large chunk of concrete.

The conductor, also, was a source of stress. The glares he generated were knives in Shuu's direction, and he could often be seen in hushed whispered with various crewmen and passengers, trying to sway them towards turning against the Trooper.

Shuu was also hearing the consistent sound of water. A pipe must have burst somewhere, and the puddles were getting larger as they went.

The crewman, Nijirou, came up. "I did some scouting, sir," he said. Shuu resisted valiantly the urge to sigh at being called "sir."

"And?"

"I think we're at the collapse. The flashlight just barely glints on concrete instead of darkness." He paused, his countenance darkening. "It's exactly as you said, sir."

Shuu did sigh this time. "I know." He gave a firm slap on the crewman's back before lengthening his armored strides to get ahead of the others. Borrowing Kiyose's flashlight, he peered through the darkness and did indeed see the rubble of the collapse. Well, the good news was that they were almost in the clear. "Kiyose, Kushinage," he called.

"Yes?" the high school boy and the business woman replied.

"Have everyone hang back for a bit. I want to see if I can do anything about the collapse. Last time I tried anything, we had an aftershock and it all fell in. This close to the site, I don't want any more injuries."

The business woman, Kushinage, nodded and got right to work, pulling Nijirou with her. Kiyose paused, looking as Shuu oddly. "Yes?"

"Shuu-san. I don't have powers like you, I can't do much. But... no matter what happens... I think everything will work out. Good luck."

The boy ran off and Shuu wondered. But he couldn't dwell on that long, he had work to do. He limped and climbed his way to the wall. Cracking his knuckles, he placed his armored hands against the stone. The connection was almost instantaneous, and Shuu worked his way through the dirt, dust, earth, and concrete. He was going to do a _thorough_ inspection of what he was about to move before doing anything. There were around half a dozen massive chunks of overhang amidst the rest of the rubble. They were each several tons, and he wasn't about to fiddle with them for fear of what could happen. Several other boulders were smaller and much more movable, but were at key places, lynchpins that prevented further collapse. There was, however, at least a ton of dirt, and that was what Shuu was looking for. If he did it right, he could be able to use it as a buffer to shimmy the medium and small sized rocks around to create an opening.

"Demon! Get away from there before you succeed in killing us!" The conductor. Shuu ignored it, trying to begin the complicated process of clearing the rubble. That was ripped away as something struck hard into his bad hip. He reeled to the ground; his senses were still half in the earth, he couldn't quite get a sense of where he was. Above him was the conductor; somehow he had found a metal pipe and had apparently used it to strike him.

"Demon. Akumo no ko! Demon child! I'll stop you from killing us!!"

"Conductor-san, stop it!"

From nowhere Kiyose appeared and tackled the crazy conductor. There was a struggle as Shuu struggled to figure out where he was: his body or the earth.

The conductor finally gained leverage and threw the high school boy aside. Instantaneously on his feet, he swung the metal pipe violently against Kiyose's head.

"Kiyose!!"

Anger welled up in Shuu as he saw the loyal school boy fall, blood flying through the air. Kiyose bounced once on the ground and did not get back up. Shuu struggled to his feet, reaching out and wishing to crush the conductor, to unleash his wrath, to stop the _idiot_ from making things worse, to make him pay for hurting someone who had done nothing but help.

The earth reacted to his rage, triggering another aftershock.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part Twelve**

Touma coughed. The dust was slowly settling, and the earth had finally finished rumbling. He blessed his winds for letting him hover above the unstable creaking concrete, but he was worried about why the aftershock was so much stronger than the previous. It just couldn't bode well.

Shuu, from what Ryo had told him, didn't have the endurance to deal with the prevention of aftershocks and earthquakes. It was just too much all at once. But for an aftershock to get even stronger? That didn't sound right. Aftershocks were supposed to get progressively weaker, not stronger. Something must have gone wrong.

Racing down the tunnel, Touma's flashlight finally caught sight of rubble up ahead. He couldn't be far now.

Though he knew it wouldn't do any good, Touma called out, "SHUU!!" Running, he reached out, putting his hands onto the rumble in some vain sort of hope that he could connect to the earth the way his teammate did. "SHUU!!"

Surprisingly, Touma did feel something when he slammed his palms onto the soil, dust, and concrete rubble. Something strong. Very strong.

ANGER!!

Touma involuntarily stumbled back. What was that? It almost... sounded like Shuu; if "sounded" was even the correct word. "Felt" might be a more accurate term, but it definitely had a ring like "sounded" would. Not that Touma was arguing vernacular with himself.

"Shuu!" he called out again. "Shuu! Anyone! Can you hear me?"

No response.

_Okay, Touma. Time to use your damn intellect._ From the information he had, Shuu was in a cavern that was completely encased by earth, concrete, and rubble. That meant there was a limited air supply and that Touma had no immediate access to that air supply. Touma didn't know the earth either, so any attempt to try and dig out Shuu and the other subway passengers was going to be a slow and painstaking process without knowing how structurally sound things were.

...Or was he cut off? Wind and air was empty space that vibrated and moved. On the atomic level, there was nothing but empty space as electrons zoomed around their nuclei. If Touma could somehow push air through those infinitesimal spaces, he might be able to force oxygen into the cavern. Or perhaps he could talk to Shuu the way that Shuu had spoken to Ryo. That way he could find out what the hell was going on.

But how?

If Shuu could talk to Ryo through the ground, Touma could find a way as well.

Though he wanted nothing more than to be actively pounding away at the rubble in front of him, Touma took a long, deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing. Breathing was always a good way for him to start connecting with his element. The very process required movement of air, creating currents and flow of the air around him.

After nine deep cleansing breaths, Touma reached out with his exhale. It was like he could see every atom held in every breath. The carbon dioxide, the oxygen. The millions of atoms that made up a single fragment of dust drifting through the air. Slowly, he gathered the oxygen particles together and looked to the concrete debris. The sheer amount of atoms was staggering. Touma never had felt so small in his entire life, but lives on the other side were depending on him. The trouble he was going to have was that the oxygen molecules were very large, and the spaces to fit through were very small.

So Touma drilled. He gathered the dust around him and used it as a mini drill/hammer to start making microscopic holes for him to push the oxygen through. It was a difficult process and was extremely taxing on his concentration. It wasn't until his view started to shift to a larger scale that things slowly became easier. He was basically using miniscule wind drills to make tunnels for air to circulate. Once he understood that, Touma was able to set about making hundreds of them in the rubble, all trying to make their way to the other side.

Where Shuu was.

Touma eventually slumped on the ground, sweat oozing around his body, breathing hard. That was, by far, the hardest thing he ever had to do.

Worry whispered at him to immediately go through those air tunnels and to see what was happening, but common sense told him if he didn't take a break, he'd end up in similar straights as Shuu. So as much as he wanted to move, he told himself to stay still and recharge.

Once his breathing was back under control, Touma took his nine cleansing breaths. His vision of the wind was once again on a microscopic level, but he shifted outward slightly, to get a better "view". Once his conscious mind was on Shuu's half of the collapse, he sent out a massive wind, using it as a sonar to see where people were, how their breathing was, how many where trapped, etc.

It was hardly an accurate view of things, but it gave Touma something to analyze in the back of his mind while he finally did what he'd been wanting to do.

"Shuu!"

The earth around his little air tunnels vibrated.

"Touma?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Thirteen**

**Chapter by Venka**

Shuu had grabbed the pipe from the conductor's hand and was holding it like a club. The rational part of him mind was pleading with him to stop because cause this was proving the idiot right. But that rational voice was being drowned out by the rage he was feeling. Some of the people around him were whispering in fear about whether he was leading them all to their deaths like the conductor had said.

Yoshirin and Kushinage had gone to help Kiyose. Nijirou had carefully placed down Imiko who was exhausted from giving birth, before he turned to Shuu and the conductor. However he didn't engage either of them until he knew who to restrain first.

"Shuu!"

"Touma?" Shuu said; his mind relieving itself of the anger and rage he felt. He tossed down the conductor and the pipe before starting the cave in again.

"Thank goodness." Shuu could hear here the warrior of the sky say in relief. "You aren't hurt are you?"

"I'm not hurt too badly," Shuu said. "There are others who are worse off than me. Unfortunately my armor appeared while I was helping the people out and now the conductor is trying to convince everyone I'm a demon."

There was a commotion as the conductor had picked up the piece of pipe that Shuu had discarded and started to rush at him for the kill.

"Die you devil!" the conductor shouted. However he was tackled by Nijirou and several other crew members.

"Are you blind you fool?!" Nijirou spat at the conductor. "If this man had been trying to kill us he would have made that first earthquake a lot worse."

"He's a demon I tell you!" the conductor ranted. "If he was not here we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Your right," Nijirou said. "If we had followed your directions we could have remained down there until the tunnel finally caved in. Then we would have to wait until we died of asphyxiation. This man is no demon. If he was he would have killed us all long ago."

"That's just his plan!" the conductor yelled. "He wants us to think he's helping us."

"Hold him down," Nijirou said to the crew members before he started to see about Kiyose. "When we get out of this, I'll see that you are removed from your position."

Crouching by Yoshirin and Kushinage he asked, "How is he?"

"He's barely breathing," Kushinage said. "We're trying what we can to keep him alive but if he doesn't get attention soon he won't make it."

Shuu sighed before he returned to his conversation with Touma.

"Ryo said he is going to do something about the magma which was causing the quakes," he said.

"Seiji and Shin are on their way as well," Touma said trying to sound encouraging. "I'm trying what I can to help break through the rock."

"Thanks," Shuu said appreciatively. "This load will be too much for you. Try and direct help down this direction. I'll do what I can about the blockage. Stone is my specialty."


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Fourteen**

Touma, reassured that he could talk to Shuu when he needed to, began working on the drilling system he had used in order to contact his friend. It was the most challenging thing he had ever done in his life, even compared to keeping Ryo levelheaded when it was just the two of them in the Youjakai, searching for the others. He had no less than six different drills going, trying to delicately wedge air in so that the rocks and concrete could move around; shifting it an inch here, a millimeter there. The microscopic space was not what he was used to, being someone much more comfortable with the macroscopic: space, galaxies, stars, etc. There were times where he almost couldn't see what he was doing, and often had to stop to get a better idea of where his drills were going.

It was during such a pause where he made a critical mistake. Stopping the drills created an unforeseen vacuum, and one rock moved an inch in the wrong direction. A cornerstone rock rumbled, and suddenly several tons of rock were shifting this way and that, too fast for Touma even fully understand what was happening until a stone clipped into his shoulder, making him involuntarily jump back as he watched dust settle and felt a terribly strong shaking emanating from the other side.

"Shuu!!"

* * *

He felt Touma's work, could feel the dirt and earth inching along as his friend tried to help dig through the ceiling collapse. He also felt when Touma stopped, and felt the catastrophic chain of reactions that caused several of the major boulders loose their footing and begin tumbling onto his head.

He turned to the others: "_GET OUT!_"

With a swing of his arm, Shuu used the earth under their feet to fling Nijirou, the ass conductor, Kushinage, Yoroshin and Imiko, everyone he could get his strength under, out and away from the wall. Mildly surprised he still had the strength to do that, Shuu heard a pipe burst and felt himself go cold.

It wasn't the first time he'd been buried alive. He remembered Shuten having pulled half a building on him when he and Ryo had infiltrated Shinjuku in order to ascertain the origin of what Shuu could only describe as a giant spaghetti ball. It hadn't hurt much then, it didn't now. He pulled his arms over his head and instinctively curled himself into a ball; his armor did the rest.

When everything settled, Shuu could feel more than see that he was completely trapped under the rubble.

That was when his mind had decided that he'd had enough.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!! Son of a bitch!! Goddamn it! Aaaauuugh!" Shuu utilized his full vocabulary in his two minutes of rage; cursing everything from himself to that jackass of a conductor to anyone else he could think of.

Finally spent, Shuu's body slacked in exhaustion. His hip was throbbing again, and his leg was burning. Sweat was oozing down his forehead and the air had a damp, stale smell to it. Closing his eyes was tempting, but he stubbornly refused. Now was _not_ the time for a nap. Instead, he tried to focus on his breathing, rolling to his back painfully and trying to get a sense of how deeply buried he'd been.

A low groan was faintly heard, and Shuu cocked his head this way and that, trying to find the source of the pain. Blood was now filling his nose; had the cut on his nostril reopened? Giving up on trying seeing in the pitch blackness, Shuu mentally played back what had happened before the collapse. Had he forgotten someone? The groan turned to coughing, and it was then that Shuu remembered what Kushinage had said about not breathing.

"Kiyose! Kiyose! Can you hear me? Oi!"

The coughing subsided, and Shuu realized where the blood was coming from. Kiyose was trapped with him, his head injury still bleeding and his life still in the hands of the Trooper.

"Touma!! Where the hell are you!?" For the first time, panic filled into Shuu's brain. The old man on the train had died; but Kiyose was still a high school boy, still had his life ahead of him; he'd followed Shuu from the start, he'd be damned if this boy died because of it. "Touma!!"

"--uu! Shuu! Can you hear me?"

"Touma! There was a collapse! I'm buried alive with Kiyose! Son of a bitch what happened?"

"Never mind that," Touma said quickly, knowing that apologizing for the mistake would mean nothing if they died. "The collapse actually made things easier; there are fewer cornerstones now, and I can work better."

...Only Touma would say that. "Did you not hear me the first time? _I'm buried alive!_"

"Shuu, calm down. I'm telling you that it will be fine. You have a steady air passage, and I can get you out quickly."

Shuu was _so_ going to hit Touma when he got out of this. But, unable to do otherwise, Shuu waited, breathing deeply and praying that Kiyose would be alright. When he was finally centered, he tried to cast his senses into the earth around him. It was almost too difficult, like lifting a stone just over his weight, or trying to look after one too many children. When he finally did sink into the earth, he could only see a few meters in either direction. He was buried, but not nearly as deep as he'd thought. Several people were digging on his side, probably Nijirou and Kushinage and the others. On the other side he could faintly feel Touma poking and prodding. Kiyose was only a meter away from him, beyond that Shuu couldn't tell.

Sinking back into his head, Shuu took a deep breath, settling in for the long haul.

Except his hair was wet. His neck, too. There'd been no water here beforehand...

"The burst pipe..." Shuu froze.

They weren't going to die of injuries, or of asphyxiation, or of psycho conductors.

They were going to drown.

The water was rising.

Go to Part 15


	15. Chapter 15

**Part Fifteen**

Shin paced in his room. Shuu was trapped underground, he couldn't reach anyone, and he was over four hours away from Yokohama. Just what was he supposed to do? There had to be some way to contact _some_one! Touma and Ryo weren't answering their phones and Seiji had hung up on him after nearly five minutes of silence. This just _had_ to occur the one day he was able to go home to Yamaguchi. He couldn't leave the phone either in case one of the others tried to call again. He was currently the only one available.

So Shin paced. He had been pacing in the hall by the phone until Sayoko had shooed him into his room. There _had_ to be something he could do!

A strong gust of wind suddenly burst through his window, sending papers flying, curtains flowing, and Shin stumbling back. "Wha--"

"Shin!"

"Touma! Where are you? What's going on? _Is Shuu alright?_"

"I'm borrowing from Shuu's playbook and communicating through my element. Shuu can talk through rock, I can talk through wind," Touma's voice whistled in Shin's ear. "I flew to Yokohama as soon as I heard, and found the wall between me and Shuu."

Shin breathed a huge sigh of relief. One of the other Troopers was there. That was excellent. Shuu would be safe. Touma was exceptionally level headed and Shuu was well connected with the earth. With a pair like that, everything would be fine.

"Unfortunately, there was an accident. Shuu's currently buried with a high school student."

Scratch that, Shin started to worry again.

"Shuu's strength is tapped out. I'm giving him a steady air supply, but his enclosed cavern is filling with water from a burst pipe."

Shin's worry increased about ten-thousand fold. "What?"

"He's going to drown if something isn't done. I can't keep an air bubble in water; it's too separated from the wind. The best I could manage would be a long pipe of air, but with the shifting water, I'd be focusing on that instead of getting them out of there."

"What can I do?" Shin asked, taking a heavy seat on the floor. "I'm out here in Yamaguchi. Being optimistic, it would take me over four hours to get there. With the earthquake, I'm not even sure I could get into the city."

The wind sighed around Shin, Touma's voice getting tired. "Shin, all the water in the earth is connected by flow. Ryo's currently playing with the magma to stop these earthquakes, who knows how he got his mind down there. I just follow the wind. _You_ should be able to swim with the water."

Shin's eyes widened. "What station are you at?"

Touma gave the exact details, all the way down to the kilometer. Shin mumbled a thanks and ran to the koi pond out back, diving in. When Shuu had first asked about his tingling feet, Shin had said that he was probably connecting with his element. Shin himself has been connecting to it for a very long time, between baths and regular swimming in the ocean. That was partly why he was able to get from Japan to Africa. He had connected on a level he hadn't been able to reach since then and the next thing he knew, he was stepping out of a lake in the jungle and he could sense where his fellow Troopers were. Now, he was hoping for such a deep connection once more. Something on the more conscious level. Touma's mention of all water being connected had triggered something in Shin's mind, so he focused on where he wanted to go and kept his eyes opened. Sure enough, the water was somehow guiding him through pipes, rivers, and lakes, until he surfaced in a lake in some sort of park.

Shin was vaguely familiar with Yokohama, after having visited Shuu many times, so he took off running, ignoring the stares he got for being sopping wet and fully clothed. If Shuu was drowning, depending on how big the cavern he was in was and how fast the water was filling, minutes would be crucial.

"Touma!" he called out, hoping the air would take his voice to his friend. "A little help please?" he yelled, exiting the park. Sure enough, the wind pushed which direction he needed to go.

It was perhaps ten minutes before Shin finally reached the station and jumped down and entered the tunnel. Another ten minutes before he finally tripped, stumbled, and fell his way to the blue head of Touma who, curse him, had enough sense to bring a flashlight where Shin hadn't.

Said friend was not in the best of shape. When Shin finally got a good look at him, he saw a fresh sheen of sweat over not only the temples, but the entirety of Touma's face. His eyes were tired, and his brow was a thick crease of concentration. To top it all off, his shoulder was bleeding.

"What...?"

"It's harder than it looks," Touma said before Shin could finish. "I'm used to stars and galaxies, hell even hurricanes and tornadoes. Spaces that are perhaps three millimeters thick? Not so much. I keep loosing myself in the space and have to stop and re-center myself." He grinned, or at least tried to without making a grimace. "The water is adding density to the air as well, making it even harder. Shuu's up to his ears in the stuff."

"You're damn right I am!!"

Shin blinked. "Shuu?"

"That's me," Touma said quickly. "I've got an air passage way five centimeters thick to his area, and I've been using the wind to keep in contact with him since he's tapped out."

"That, with digging through, with helping me get here?" No wonder Touma look liked hell. He put a reassuring hand on the tired man's good shoulder before turning to the enormous wall of rubble. "What can I do?"

"Stop the water flow," Touma said; a tired edge to his voice. "Pull it back, if you can."

Shin gave a stout nod before summoning his undergear. Touma did the same and the pair set to work. It was not long before Shin could hear the soft, high whining sound of drills. Shin himself sat down, thinking about and focusing on his wet hair, plastered to his face this way and that, the moisture of it congealing and dripping down his face and cheeks, following the drops as they fell leisurely down into the soil, being absorbed and sinking to other water centers. Following the maze like path, Shin finally found himself on the other side of the wall, where he could feel the ripples of Shuu's movements in the water.

"Now to trace back to the source," he murmured. Shin followed the currents of the pools, mentally reverse engineering the structure of the burst back to its original pipe.

Considering Shuu's luck over the course of the afternoon, it once again held true. It wasn't some tiny connector pipe, or perhaps a diverging pipe to a building. No, the burst pipe was one of the major water pipes for the city. It was pouring gallons upon gallons of water into the tunnel itself, not just the pile of rubble. Considering the moment opportune, Shin bit out a curse he was certain nobody thought he _knew_ let alone would _use_ before examining the pipe itself.

It was much harder to examine the pipes; metal was Shuu's forte, after all, but since he was exhausted and currently buried Shin refused to ask he friend for help. He had to physically manifest condensation in order to "feel" the pipe. The crack was huge, spanning perhaps three meters. After what felt like an eternity of searching, however, Shin found what he was looking for: emergency shut off valves.

Shin reached out with his hand, willing through sheer effort for tendrils of water to encircle the valve for Shin to manipulate. With a stout, painful wrench, Shin was able to close one of the valves. Mentally swimming over to the other valve, Shin tried to repeat the success. His head was pounding, the moisture on his face was now more than pond water, his muscles were shaking from excursion, and every so often a groan settled into his throat. This was _not_ an easy thing to do. Water flowed, followed the path of least resistance, wandered this way and that; it wasn't meant to flow against gravity towards a valve, then pressurized and humidified, then jerked this way and that only to start the process over again. Shin huffed at the thought, refusing to be let down by _water_. He wrenched again, and the second valve closed.

That closed one side of the pipe; now... for... the other...

The connection of something hard and swift to Shin's head broke his concentration completely and he plummeted to the ground, getting a face full to dirt and dust. Coming up for air, he glared at the cause.

"Touma! What was that for?"

Sinking to the ground, the Trooper let out a sigh of relief. Then hit him again. "Shin!! Don't do that to me! You'd stopped breathing!"

"... What?"

"You did exactly what was happening to me. You got too lost in the water and left your body completely. Your bodily functions started shutting down without you. You have to keep at least a part of yourself in your body to feel how you're doing, and stop when you have to. Shuu wouldn't want you to kill yourself saving him!"

Only after the speech did Shin realize he was panting, aching, feeling feverish, and other maladies.

"I'm in... undergear," he panted weakly. "Shouldn't... that have... helped?"

"Not necessarily," Touma scolded, now in full lecture mode despite the circumstances. "These are Suzunagi's yoroi, not the old ones. They don't have a consciousness of their own to keep track of us and protect us. It's like a toddler learning to walk. We've had our parents holding us for a while until we got used to it. Now we have to do it on our own, with no one but each other to catch us when we fall; and Shin, you were falling hard and fast."

"Yes... Mama," Shin grinned sheepishly.

Touma only rolled his eyes before wiping his forehead. "Anyway, you take a break. I'm going to start drilling again. I've made some pretty good progress while you were gone."

"... What time is it?"

"Half past six. The sun set while you were playing Poseidon."

"How is Shuu?"

"The water has stopped rising, he says. But the kid with him has a severe head injury; Shuu can smell blood and he keeps groaning. He can feel the rest of the crew and passengers trying to dig - either to freedom or to get him out he doesn't know. They're not nearly as well organized."

The headache was starting to fade, and Shin was beginning to get his breath back. "Have you tried contacting Seiji?"

"I would if I knew where he was," Touma said, sighing. "He's not at the dojo, and I can only guess at what he did when he finally called you."

"Hop on the first train here," Shin answered.

"But I don't know which train. There must be at least a dozen that go from Sendai to here, and I don't know the timetables for each and every one of them."

"You know," Shin said, finally daring to sit up. "We've been contacting each other through our elements; earth, wind, water. We used to be able to sense each other through our yoroi."

Touma blinked, wheels turning visibly in his mind. "Shuu," Touma turned to the wall of rubble. "Shin's taking a break. Don't let him do anything for a few minutes. I think I can contact Seiji."

"Wha?" Shuu's voice murmured on the wind.

Shin stilled. Shuu sounded exhausted. Worse than a usual day of running around doing errands. Shuu sounded like he did back when they were in the middle of the war with Arago, after days of fighting and desperately needing a break, but somehow, still pushing forward. Shuu couldn't last much longer. He needed rest.

"Touma, how are you..." Shin trailed off. Touma's body was slumped forward, obviously elsewhere. "Shuu, how are you doing, really?"

"Worried," Shuu groaned. "Tired. Fighting to stay awake. It's so boring in here."

Shin could swear he heard a grin in Shuu's voice. Only he could call being buried alive boring.

"We're going to get you out of there," he vowed. "We'll get you out of there soon."

Go to Part 16


	16. Chapter 16

**Part Sixteen**

Seiji was never fond of public transportation; it inevitably provided opportunities for an untold amount of people to stare at him, whisper to one another how pretty, cute, beautiful, or whatever other moniker was popular at the time, he was, and in some cases, dare to scrounge up the courage to ask him on a date. It was undoubtedly happening now. If he wanted to, he could feel the stares of the gaggle of high school girls directly behind him.

But he didn't want to, and frankly he was too focused on other things. His mind was several hundred kilometers away, in Yokohama, where a dearly loved friend was in peril. The tall blond had absolutely no clue what he could do, but moving was better than doing nothing. He would never understand how Shin could just pace around the phone waiting for calls. After this, he was determined to buy a cellular phone, so he could be reached at any time.

_Seiji_.

His eyes snapped open, adjusting instantaneously to the florescent lights of the train car. "Touma?"

_Seiji, can you hear me?_

_Yes, I can. What is happening? Where are you?_

_I'm on the other side of a collapsed portion of the tunnel where Shuu is. He's currently buried in it with some kid who's suffering from a severe cranial injury. Shuu can't see him, but he can smell blood and is coughing and groaning. Shuu doesn't sound so great himself, though he damn well refuses to say anything._

How like Shuu.

_Alright. I'll do what I can_. He could feel Touma's relief as the connection broke. Seiji again closed his eyes, falling easily into a meditative state. It wasn't long before he started feeling the light of the people around him. His grandfather had explained (granted, when he was three) that all living creatures and beings held the light of their spirits in them. He of course had gone into much deeper detail than that, but it was all little Seiji had been able to absorb. Long after receiving Korin, as he became more connected to the yoroi and more adept at using it, he began seeing the light his grandfather had talked about. It was actually somewhat easier with Suzunagi's yoroi; why he couldn't say.

Finding the other Troopers were easy, their lights were naturally colored with the hues of their armor. It was the allusion of a flashlight in the pitch dark; Seiji could see it miles away. He could see Ryo's bright red fire, kilometers away, in his apartment with a thin red line stretching down into the earth, working with the magma. Seiji placed a mental pat on his friends back, encouraging him and wishing him luck.

Further away was Shin and Touma, their light and dark blues overpowering each other, mixing to a medium color.

Near them was Shuu, his orange disturbingly faint. Just how much of his power had he used over the course of this trial? Seiji decided he didn't want to know at this exact moment. Instead, he mentally touched his fellow Trooper's shoulder.

"Shuu?"

"Seiji?" the tiredness in Shuu's voice did not ease Seiji's worry one ounce; in fact, it only increased. "Seiji, there's a boy next to me, Kiyose, maybe a meter away. He took a metal pipe to the head. He needs help a hell of a lot more than I do."

He nodded on the train and turned his senses away from Shuu reluctantly. The boy's spirit was, if possible, even weaker than Shuu's. Seeing and sensing the urgency, Seiji refocused on the high school boy.

The point of impact was swelled, and there was a hairline crack on the boy's skull - a testament to how hard he had been struck. There was thankfully no damage to the brain that Seiji could see, but that did not mean it was an ugly mess. Seiji's hand caressed the injury, searching for and finding bits of black and brown mixed into the otherwise lavender spirit. He tried to pick it up mentally with his fingers but they were too small and his fingers too bulky. Pursing his lips, Seiji tried to mentally picture tweezers in his hands, using them to pick out the unhealthy colors. It worked better, but was painstakingly slow. Seiji tried other implements and finally settled on a small spoon to scoop out the injuries. It required total concentration and was not as natural as the time he had cured Ryo of his blindness. Suzunagi's armor really was different.

When he finally finished, Seiji bequeathed some of his strength to the boy, hoping that would help even further before finally turning back to Shuu.

"What... took you?" Shuu asked, trying to grin but failing utterly. Seiji took it as a token of Shuu's confidence in his abilities when he did not ask about Kiyose.

"You know me," Seiji said lightly, forcing his voice to sound light and teasing, not upset, worried, and tired like he was. "I have to get everything right before I move on to the next thing."

"Ha... you're worse... than Touma sometimes."

"Shuu, you're suffering from blood loss, did you know that?"

"... what?"

Seiji sighed, feeling his head sink. The black and brown on Shuu's spirit was centered on his hip and leg. No doubt from the initial crash, given how long it had taken to fester. "You were hit a second time, correct?"

"Yeah, from the asshole with the pipe."

Seiji once again forcibly reminded himself that he didn't need details, he could get them later. Instead he went on explaining, "That second hit was the perfect strike. It ruptured just the right major veins to pool out into other places. I'm going to try to fix it."

"Take your time," Shuu replied wryly, still sounding exhausted.

It took a fastidious amount of effort to spoon out the bad colors. The injury had been let be for several hours. It was a wonder Shuu hadn't fainted yet until he remembered Shin explaining that he was in undergear. No doubt that was staving the injury from getting worse. The water in the tiny cavern was not helping; Seiji could feel both Shuu's and the boy's temperatures lowering, and then rising in the sure sign of fever to compensate for the conditions. It made Seiji want to work faster, but he of all people knew that some things required time.

When he finally finished, he again bequeathed his power to Shuu.

"The leg feels better," Shuu said softly. He sounded better, but not good enough for Seiji. "Where are you? With Shin and... Touma?"

"On a train bound for them," Seiji replied. "I'm still several hours away. If you wanted a get-together, you could have just called."

"Ha, ha... you know me... always... making a splash..." It was enough to make Seiji smile in spite of himself. "Only one... missing... is Ryo..."

"I passed by him on the way over," Seiji said lightly. "I'll go pick him up."

"You do that."

Seiji paused long enough to fill in Shin and Touma - both of whom desperately needed the good news on Shuu and Kiyose's health - before backtracking to see what Ryo and his thin red line of spirit was up do.

He didn't like what he saw.

Go to Part 17


	17. Chapter 17

**Part Seventeen**

Ryo was floating. It was a strange feeling to be floating. He had sunk in order to float. That was illogical, but he was having a hard time concentrating on much of anything. He just floated. Originally, he had sunk through the claustrophobic and heavy confines of the earth in order to calm the magma beneath it. The lava was calm now. No more shaking of the thick strong rock above him. But the big boulders above him were keeping him from something. Something important. He was loosing contact with an important piece of himself, but he was so unfocused, he couldn't tell what it was.

Besides, the molten rock was so beautiful. The glow was so warm. It engulfed him and encased him in a warm embrace. To leave was to be cold again. But he knew he had to leave for something. But what? He wasn't sure. It was so hard to think.

Oh. There was a tugging. Something was tugging at him. But it was a him that was very far away. Why was he spread so thin again? Sinking to float. The tugging was insistent, if gentle. It meant leaving the warm embrace. Maybe if he just reached back. Tell the tugging to stop. He would remember what he needed eventually.

* * *

Seiji felt Ryo resisting. He must have been getting lost in the lava. That had almost happened with Shin. Touma had needed to physically hit his companion to bring Shin back. Ryo, by contrast, was very far away. What was working in both Seiji and Ryo's favor, however, was that Ryo seemed to have set up a thread between himself and his body.

Leave it to Ryo to naturally do something with the yoroi that the rest of them struggled with.

So Seiji tugged a little more, trying to pull Ryo back.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand firmly groped his behind. Of all the--

Turning, he glared at the people behind him on the train. Courtesy and etiquette be damned. "_Leave me be!_" he growled. He couldn't explain that he was currently trying to save a friend's life. All that would do would inspire more people to pester him. Let them giggle and admire from afar. Seiji was _busy_. He could tune out the noise around him and the natural shifting and pressing of the train, but _not_ when someone so deliberately grabbed him. He only prayed that the intensity of his eyes could keep them away. Because he was certainly feeling intense at the moment.

If only he could glow right now without causing a panic.

Ryo still needed him. Seiji took a deep breath. Since returning his conscious mind to his body, he noted how tired he was feeling. Traveling to heal two distant and badly injured individuals, _and_ trying to pull Ryo back from mingling with magma? Yes, he was tired. Once Ryo was back though, he'd rest for the rest of his seven hour train ride to Yokohama. But for now, he had work to do.

* * *

The tugging returned. Still gentle, still insistent. He was slowly being raised up into the heavy, heavy rocks. The warmth followed him. It didn't cause trouble, it merely lingered with him. That was good. The molten heat would stay instead of letting him get cold. He would never be cold again, no matter where he was.

The rock was heavy. It was crushing in on him. He didn't want to be here. The rock was a friend, but it _wasn't_ him. The higher he rose, the stronger he felt. The less confused he was. But there were still gaps. He knew he had, for all intents and purposes, left his body. And he was returning with the help of another friend. More pieces fell back into place.

"Shuu!" Ryo sat up from where the floor where he had fallen and almost immediately regretted hit. His head was _pounding_. "Hell that hurts," he mumbled. While he was far from cold (in all honesty, he wanted to take off his shirt right now, it was _boiling_), he was sore and tired. His mind was active and awake, but he absolutely loved the idea of crawling into his futon and sleeping for a month.

"Seiji?" he whispered. "That was you, right?"

"Yes, Ryo," Seiji's voice seemed to emanate from the florescent light pouring in the room from above. Well that explained why his stomach was hurting, he was famished. The earthquake had been mid afternoon. Now the sun had set. "I'm almost in Tokyo now. I'm still over an hour away, and the trains are getting tricky due to the damage from the shake up this afternoon."

"Thank you," Ryo replied, quietly. "You guys are always saving me."

Seiji's voice sighed. "I want to talk to you about a few things. Lecture actually. But not know. I'll let Touma know you're back and he'll guide you. We're all meeting to help finish digging Shuu and the other passengers out. I need to rest."

"You're not alone," Ryo mumbled, slowly sitting up. "I'm on my way."

Go to Part 18


	18. Chapter 18

**Part Eighteen**

"Hey, Touma, what time it is?" Shuu asked.

"Don't know; I'm in under gear. I think it must be about nine thirty," his friend replied.

"There," Shin said. "I think that's the last of the water. How does it feel in there?"

"It's just peachy!" Shuu called. The pair went back to work, the drilling sound reasserting itself. Shuu rolled his head, cracking it this way and that before falling back into exhaustion. He was _sore_. Seiji had helped immensely, but the fact of the matter was that he had been running on full tilt for… he paused to do the math, over five hours. That was five hours of walking (well, two hours of that), tension, fighting, injuries, birthing, jackasses, aftershocks, and now just laying on his damn back in the dark trying to stay awake and bored out of his mind. His body was aching, stiff and prone to cracking, he was certain he had a fever in spite of Seiji and Shin's best efforts, and it was sapping his strength, and the near total sensory deprivation was beginning to get to him.

Another groan sounded.

Shuu cocked his head again, trying in vain to see Kiyose. That was his biggest worry, his loyal little high school student.

"Oi, Kiyose, how are you doing?" he asked yet again. "You know, my friends are on their way here, and they're almost - almost - as strong as I am. It's totally awesome. We have these kick-ass yoroi that this old shugendo monk gave us. Actually, those were destroyed a few years ago when we were in a different fight to save the world - we've been through a couple of them - and about three years ago this Christian ghost gave us a new set of yoroi. It's like getting an upgrade for a computer, it still does all the same things, but the interface is a little different; it took some getting used to."

Kiyose coughed. Worry was a heavy burden, Shuu knew from the war with Arago, with Mukara, with Suzunagi. It was pressing on him more than any of the concrete in the tomb they were encased in.

"Well, you see," he continued, hoping against hope that the boy was listening on some level. "I'm getting ahead of myself. The very first fight was against this demon called Arago. Total piss-head, if you ask me, no sense of humor unless he was laughing maniacally. You would have liked to have seen him; he was a giant floating samurai helmet, great for scary summer stories. Do you like scary stories, Kiyose?"

Shuu paused, but got no reply. Pressing on, "I bet you do, you use them to scare your girlfriend, don't you? You have a girlfriend right? Bright, capable, dependable guy like you must have the girls flocking at your beck and call. Seiji's like that. He's the guy who healed your head a little while ago. He's a really pretty boy, the rest of us are always teasing him, asking who his latest date is. With girls, Ryo's totally clueless though, you'd be surprised how plain naïve that guy can be when he wants to. He always believes the best in people, even after everything, it's really something to admire. He kind of reminds me of you, Kiyose, the way you believed in me back there. It's was a damn hard thing to do, I want you to know; and your doing it took guts. You're so awesome.

"Hey, do you like movies, Kiyose? Maybe we can catch one when this mess is over. What kind of movie would you like to see? Action? Romance with your girlfriend? Maybe a comedy? I know; I bet you're the type to like chick flicks. Shin likes them, too, though I'd bet he'd kill me if I told anyone. He's a great guy too, great cook. I've asked him a couple times to join my restaurant - hey, did you know I work at a restaurant? My folks run it, I've finally worked my way up to headwaiter, next step is head chef after my other friend Quan Ko decides to let me have it.

"He doesn't have armor like the others, but he's very cool. He's the only guy my age who can best me in wushuu, that's Chinese martial arts and Tai Chi. Only other guy that can come close to me is Grandfather, but he's a stupid old perv. I should really have you over at my restaurant. Do you like Chinese food?"

A groan and a cough.

"I see. You know, Kiyose, you really have to start talking back to me. I'm not really good at this one sided conversations, you see? Touma, now he could talk your ears off. Total academic old professor lecture, at least when he's not making a complete ass of himself. You should hear him when he gets started on the stars and stuff, I'm asleep in minutes. On second thought, maybe we shouldn't have him talking; we wouldn't want you to fall asleep would we?"

Shuu pressed on, more fervent this time. "Yeah, the five of us, Ryo, Seiji, Shin, Touma, and I; we kicked a lot of butt in our time. That floating head, Arago, we beat him twice; first in our world and then in his. There was a lot of ass-kicking back then. Not so much now, but that's okay, because it means that this world has learned its lessons, it's become a kinder, gentler place. Does that sound corny? I don't think so, you see, we all have a virtue attached to the yoroi, a human emotion that is representative of the world and what we need. Mine's justice; pretty awesome, huh? It's right or wrong, black or white, there's no middle ground. Man, did I learn the hard way how wrong I was.

"But you know better, don't you, Kiyose? You know how to look at a situation and judge it for yourself. And you always make the right choices, don't you?

"Man, this would be so much easier if you would talk back. Tell me what your thinking, yell at me to shut up, anything. It's hard holding a conversation by your self. So go on and say something, Kiyose. Don't be shy, okay?"

Nothing.

Shuu realized only then that he was crying, thin streams of tears sliding down his cheeks and tickling his ears.

"Bakayarou! Come on you jackass, say something. Anything! Talk to me Kiyose! Say something! Tell me you're okay, you're pissed, you're tired, you're fed up, you're _anything_!!"

"…Shuu-san…?"

The Trooper startled. "Kiyose!!" By god, he was alive!!

"Shuu-san, is that you?"

There was a low rumble, and the dim light of a flashlight scrawled across his forehead. "Shuu-san?"

It was Nijirou, the crewman.

Shuu's head sunk back, defeated, exhausted. "Yeah, Nijirou-san. It's me."

"Good. Stay quiet, okay? We don't want the conductor to know you're still alive. How are you?"

"Just peachy…"

"Good. Kushinage will be here in a minute to check on you. We've been hearing drilling, is there someone on the other side?"

"Friends," Shuu said, the weight of the world pressing on top of him, not understanding the good news. If drilling was being heard, then Touma was almost through. That didn't enter his mind however, so focused Shuu was on his little high school student. "Have her look at Kiyose."

"The boy survived?" Nijirou asked. "We're being blessed with miracles! Right away sir!"

The flashlight left, plunging Shuu again into darkness. He threw a final glance at Kiyose as the boy groaned before closing his eyes, submitting to the blackness.

Go to Part 19


	19. Chapter 19

**Part Nineteen**

Touma, exhausted, took yet another breather. His work time was becoming shorter and shorter intervals as fatigue caught up with him. He had been working all afternoon doing various tasks at the same time, and it was wearing him down. Even with Shin by his side, using water to make the dirt easier to move, it was time consuming and draining work. Thanks to his winds, they had both heard a voice other than Shuu's on the other side. A voice that didn't mean Shuu any harm.

While relieving, they still needed to get across. Currently, Touma had an opening the size of an arm through the wall, but there was no light on the other side to see with. His flashlight's battery had already died. It might be argued that it was an advantage given their under-gear, but Touma wanted to _see_ his friend, make sure that he was okay.

"Hello?" a male voice called. "Is someone on the other side?"

Touma took a deep breath, still trying to get strength back.

"Yes," Shin replied, in somewhat better straights than Touma, but not by much. "We're Shuu's friends. We've been trying to get through with Shuu's guidance, but with him unconscious, we're going to have to slow down."

A muttered curse was their response.

"Are there any supplies that you need," Touma asked between gulps of air. "We have friends on the way, what can they bring?"

"Water," was the man's reply. "Some sort of food. And warm clean clothes for a newborn."

"The baby Shuu helped is still alive," Shin sighed happily. "Good."

"Nijirou! Help me with Kiyose."

"Hai, Kushinage-san. What's wrong?"

In the darkness, Touma just breathed. Then there was a flash of blue light beside him. Shin slumped down, but with stiff movements, peeled off his soaked shirt, dripping pond water and sweat.

"Shin?" Touma asked the darkness.

"I might be able to provide a clean piece of cloth for that baby," Shin explained. The blue flashed again and Shin was once more in his under-gear. "I can use the water to clean then dry the cloth. It will be something at least."

Touma smiled. Shin was ever the considerate one.

"Nijirou-san?" Shin called. "I have a clean shirt that you can use for that child. If you have water bottles, I should be able to refill them."

"I'll go about doing that."

"Wait," Touma called out, his breathing finally starting to get back into control. "What if we need to contact you? It sounds like you need to go through a toppled section of earth to get to the other passengers."

"Kushinage-san is still here."

"Aa," came a quiet voice. "Kiyose looks to be doing very well, despite everything. But both he and Shuu-kun are developing fevers."

Touma mumbled a curse.

"Touma! Shin!"

Both blue Troopers turned to see a torch coming down the cavern.

"Ryo!"

Sure enough, the fire warrior was rushing down the tunnel, looking as exhausted as they felt. He, too, was in under-gear, pale, and sweaty, but the light he provided was a welcome warm glow.

"Good," Touma muttered. "My flashlight's dead." More loudly, he called out, "Ryo, you look like hell. What happened?"

"The magma won't be an issue," their tiger-eyed friend replied, "but it didn't exactly want to let me come back."

"Ano?"

"Don't worry, Kushinage-san," Shin reassured. "Another friend of ours arrived. He's….calmed the magma that was causing the earthquakes."

"Another magician, like Shuu-san?"

"Something like that."

Touma took his nine deep cleansing breaths. "I'll tell Seiji to bring some food with him. Shin? Ryo? We've got a start on getting through the wall, let's finish this."

"Aa."

"Kushinage-san? You'll be hearing a lot of wind, water and fire. I assure you that everything will be fine."

"….Alright. Let me know if there is something I can do."

"Let's get to work."

"Touma," Ryo admonished, "you're exhausted."

The wind warrior half sighed, half laughed. "I think Seiji's about the only one who isn't exhausted right now."

"I agree with Ryo," Shin said. "We need to rearrange how we do this. Touma's been doing the vast majority of the work, and that needs to change. How is the tunnel shaping now?"

"About arm size. The tunnel itself extends maybe ten meters. Not bad, but not great either. It was so much easier with Shuu…" the thought made Touma drift off, the surge of worry that he was fighting so hard to repress overtaking him. Depletion of strength only served to add to the emotion, and for several paralyzing seconds, Touma thought he was going to break into tiny pieces.

"Alright," Ryo said a little too loudly, seeing Touma's distress. "We'll do it this way: Shin will move out all the dirt out by turning it into mud. That will slowly widen the tunnel. I'll melt the concrete around the tunnel, making it stronger and more secure and less prone to collapse. After that - if it doesn't take too long, I'll see if it's possible to burn away bits of concrete to ash in order to make it easier for Shin."

"You're not thinking about something," Touma said, the wheels in his analytical mind beginning to work again. "It's fire and water. Just by nature you're going to be fighting against each other."

"That's where you come in," Shin said, picking up on Ryo's idea. "You can monitor temperatures, a job far less taxing than the drilling, and if we start clashing you can buffer the differences. We'll be starting at opposite ends of the tunnel and working our way towards each other. That way you get even more of a break."

"… Okay." Touma admitted defeat; and the other two began working.

They both put their hands on the concrete wall, their faces etching in concentration. Shin paused only once to fill up the water bottles as the man, Nijirou, put them in the tunnel.

It wasn't long before the acrid smell of smoke started to fill the air. Touma could feel the heat of Ryo's work even where he was, resting against the wall. The thick humidity of Shin's work added to the problem, making it difficult to breathe. Almost subconsciously, Touma brushed the air aside with the tiniest of gestures. Ah, much better.

It must have been a half hour before an unnaturally bright light started jogging down the tunnel.

"Ryo! Touma! Shin!"

"Seiji!" Touma called back, standing on stiff and shaky legs. Seiji was also in undergear, his forehead a light sheen of sweat. "I thought you wouldn't be arriving until midnight?"

The thing lips pursed, and Seiji replied, "I was tired of the… delays."

"Did you run all the way hear…?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been running?"

"Maybe an hour."

Touma roughly estimated Seiji's speed in undergear and mentally backtracked. Then he balked. "That far back??"

"Yes. What can I do?"

It was a statement of how much Seiji was worried, and Touma quickly filled him in on what had happened. "There are a few things you can do," Touma finalized. "There are people over there that are injured, and haven't been treated properly. First and foremost of which is the newborn. Their flashlights must also be low by now, if you're willing to risk it."

"First things first," Seiji said, his pale eyes resolute. He knelt down on the tracks, straightening his back and closing his eyes. A faint glow enveloped him, and Touma _felt_ Seiji leave through the tunnel.

"Woah." His mind eagerly worked over that, wondering just what Seiji could do with Suzunagi's yoroi. But then, all of them had been displaying skills above and beyond what they were normally capable of.

"Hey, what's going on over there? I smell smoke!" It was a voice Touma didn't recognize.

"Just us trying to firm up the tunnel," Touma called, the air carrying his voice. Though he would never, ever, admit it; it was a good idea for his extended break. He could feel his strength returning in inches. His legs weren't as shaky, and his eyes weren't drooping nearly as much.

"How? I don't understand."

Touma moved between Shin and Ryo, both lost in concentration with Seiji, and looked down the black tunnel. "It's like we said," he answered, confused. "There was going to be a lot of wind, water, and fire; but everything was fine." Who was this person? "How's Shuu? Can you see him yet?"

"The demon? You know the demon?!" Touma blanched. The conductor! Touma's intellect took over, hoping to backtrack out of the hornets nest he'd just walked into.

"Sir, he's not a demon, I'd be more than happy to explain--"

"You're here to avenge him, to kill us all! You're gong to burn us alive, eat our corpses after you've feasted on our terror! I won't let that happen, demon! I know how to fight devil's like you!"

One simple fact asserted itself: the crazy conductor was in the tunnel, and Shuu was merely meters, even less, away. The panic overwhelmed Touma, the gentle breeze to funnel out the smoke and humidity picking up in strength in tune with his anxiety.

"Touma?" Seiji was suddenly next to him, still glowing softly, his eyes far away. "What is wrong?"

"I'm going to kill this demon before you use him to kill us!!"

"Wait!" Touma cried out. Desperation was overriding anything else. "That isn't logical! If you just--"

"_You will NOT harm him_," Seiji's voice was soft; a whisper of sunlight after an overcast day, but at the same time the weight behind it made Touma whirl around. There was a sudden _pulse_, and at the other end of the empty black snake he heard a cry and a faint tumble. Seiji stepped back, a hand shooting to his temple. Torn between what he'd heard and what he was witnessing, Touma was frozen in indecision for a fraction of a second before he moved to look at Seiji.

"His mind," Seiji said softly. "So desperate for control, for precision. Without it his anxiety overtakes him. He was going to _kill_ him. I couldn't… I didn't think I could…" His voice continued to trail off, unable to articulate what had happened.

"Seiji, are you alright?"

"Yes, I think. Just surprised I could do that."

"And him?"

"I… put him to sleep. I think…"

The gulp was audible, Touma didn't know who made it. He dashed back to the tunnel, straining to listen, hoping irrationally that he had the strength and the skill left to pick up the even breathing of the sleeping conductor. What he heard was something else entirely.

"Oh, my god; he collapsed!"

"What happened? I heard him yelling about demons. Did that devil do something?"

"He won't wake up. We're under attack!"

"We have to get out of here! Before they realize they decide to kill us!"

"Now wait a--" that was Nijirou.

The cries and the panic were overlaying each other, lathering and mixing to create a healthy mix, thick like sludge. Seiji stepped back, Shin following suit, both overpowered by the magnitude.

"Oh, god," Shin muttered.

"A mob," Seiji groaned.

Go to Part 20


	20. Chapter 20

**Part Twenty**

* * *

The pain overtook both Seiji and Shin, the pair of them frozen at the sudden influx of _feeling_. Fear, anxiety, loss of patience, worry, anger, exhaustion, irritation, surprise, excitement; the layers of emotions kept pouring in.

Ryo looked up. "Everyone's body temperatures rose, they're flushed about something."

Shin nodded, very pale, and Seiji put a hand to his forehead, trying to call upon his grandfather's training to focus his mind and block out the feeling. It was not working.

"We have a mob at the other end," Touma said quickly. He was digging with his hands furiously at the opening he had been making for several hours. "The conductor got into the mouth at the other end and was threatening to kill Shuu."

"What??" Ryo's eyes burned, even in the darkness.

"Seiji did something to make him pass out; I guess the others saw it and are panicking. We have to get Shuu out of there before they really do kill him!"

Knowledge settled onto Ryo's mind: Shuu was in danger. Sparks flickered around him, here and there, growing in intensity. Ryo had to be _there_, not _here_. He had to _stop _this from happening. He could only barely feel the heat, fire slowly engulfing his body. Someone grabbed his elbow as he stepped forward but he paid it no mind, and then he was _there_, where he wanted to be. The fire lessened but did not disappear as he stared at the fifty or so people who stared - gaped at him.

"What is wrong with you?" he demanded, flames licking his body like a hot bath. "We are trying to _help_ you, to get you _out_ of here. You need to stay calm! We're doing the best we can! I've already called the authorities, they'll be here as soon as they can spare an emergency truck, all of us are digging at that wall," he gestured violently to the obstruction that had drained Touma and Shin so badly as the fire around him continued to diminish, "and giving you water and healing you and you still let all your negative emotions get the better of you! Get a grip, this kind of panic only brings tragedy and dishonor. _You can't afford to panic._"

His fury finally dissipated, along with the flames, and he stood there panting, utterly exhausted.

They were still staring at him. Stunned. Afraid. Shocked.

The first one to move was--Seiji?

"Where is the newborn?" he asked quietly, stepping forward. There were burns on his face.

"Seiji," Ryo whispered, saucer eyed. Had he been the one to grab his elbow? Was he taken here like Ryo was?

Someone stepped forward, his face twisted in anger. "You will not eat him, demon!"

"We're not demons!" Ryo started to shout, but Seiji moved his hand minutely, telling him not to yell. "We're not demons," Ryo said again, this time quieter.

"I merely wish to see how the baby is. I will see to the worst injuries after that, and do what I can." He paused, and Ryo watched the stiffness in his back. "If the parents do not wish this, then let them say so."

Even Ryo could feel the tension. It was a dark variation of when he was diving into the magma. The pressure was absolute, pressing on his shoulders; Ryo was certain he was sinking into the earth with the weight. But then,

"Here." A man and a woman walked up, a delicate bundle in their hands. Seiji stepped forward, unfolding the cloth delicately.

"This is Shin's shirt," he whispered.

"Someone from the other side brought it over," the woman said.

"It was a good choice," Seiji said softly. "The baby is fine. What is her name?"

The husband puffed up, proud. "Fujiko."

Seiji nodded. "A strong name." And he stepped back, lowering his hands. Turning to Ryo, he asked, "Ryo? Some light?"

Fumbling, Ryo lifted his hand and concentrated like he had when he'd entered the tunnel. A small ball of fire erupted, casting a flickering glow about the enclosed tunnel. He could see Seiji's burns more clearly now, and he felt guilt well up in his chest, tightening everything inside. He stepped up to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Seiji... I'm sorry. You're always chasing after me."

The blonde only grinned. "Of course," he smiled. "Someone has to make sure you don't kill yourself while you save humanity. Besides," he added, seeing Ryo's stricken look, "light generates warmth, I was the only one who could follow you."

Their eyes locked for a moment, and Ryo felt the tightness loosen, and a smile grace his face. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Tell Touma to stop panicking; Shin can't seem to."

"Ah." Ryo stepped carefully to where the tunnel was. The crewmen and passengers had done a good job digging; it dipped into the earth and then pushed forward, the chasm ranging in size and shape as they avoided rocks and boulders that looked critical.

And then, almost before he realized what had happened, there was Shuu; on his back, filthy beyond measure, still half buried. His eyes were closed, and his brows were knotted in strain. Next to him was another body, a high school uniform discernable under his own layer of dust and dirt.

"Shuu!" Ryo dropped to his knees and crawled forward. "Shuu! It's Ryo, are you okay? Come on, open your eyes, buddy, tell me you're okay."

"Ryo?? What's going on?" Touma's voice filtered faintly through the tunnel. "How the _hell_ did you _do_ that?"

"I... don't know," Ryo said, suddenly frustrated. "I just knew I needed to be here, and Seiji grabbed my elbow--I burned him, Touma!"

"Of all of us, he'd be fine," his friend replied, relief filling his voice. "And Shuu?"

"I'm with him," Ryo said, "Seiji's trying to help the passengers. Touma, he won't wake up."

"Never mind that," Touma said forcefully, sounding much more confident. "He's alive, the rest we can deal with. Can you see the boy, Kiyose?"

"Aah, not as well. Hang on."

Ryo shifted his knees, bending down lower and deeper into the notch in the earth. The boy's face was damp with sweat, his breathing shallow. The most disturbing detail, however, was the matted blood on the boy's temple. "There's blood all over him," he said. "But he's breathing."

"That's from the head injury; Seiji already took care of that. The lady, Kushinage, said they were both suffering fevers, can you confirm that?"

"Yes," Ryo said. "They're both flushed, and I can feel the heat is unnatural for them."

"Can you do anything about that?" Touma asked.

"I don't know. Shouldn't I be working on the tunnel?"

"Shin's taking care of that. I'll be joining in a minute."

"But you're so tired..."

"Ryo," Touma said gravely, "our number one priority is getting everyone _out_ of there. I'll deal with the exhaustion after the fact. Now help Shuu and Kiyose."

Ryo wasn't good at this; consciously doing something was always hard, instinct was the easy part. But Shuu needed him, and he wasn't about to fail. He put an armored hand on Shuu's and Kiyose's heads, closing his eyes and trying to figure out what to do. If their body temperatures were unnaturally high, then he would have to draw the heat away. But how does one do that? Fire burned where there was fuel. It traced paths drawn by the wind and the wood and oils. Could Ryo make his body a more delicious looking meal?

That sounded so stupid. Ryo really wasn't good at this kind of thing. Ryo looked to himself, however, and tried to figure out how to make himself more delectable. Despite being clueless on what he was doing, however, he could feel the heat from Shuu and Kiyose start to roll and boil, concentrating on the part closest to Ryo before snaking up his arms. Ryo felt his temples melt with the heat, sweat rolling off them. Good; far better him than them.

Ryo opened his eyes and saw a much healthier color on both of them.

"I think I got it!" Ryo called out. Touma did not answer, however, the sound of drills instead being his response.

Ryo back tracked and stuck his head out to see how Seiji was doing. He was with someone with an obviously broken leg, his eyes closed and etched in concentration. Ryo didn't want to disturb the scene, and instead pulled some of the crewmen aside.

"We want to get back to digging out. Can you set up a line, like a bucket brigade to make the digging go faster?"

"Yes," said one of them. "Name's Nijirou," he added. "Anything else we can do?"

Ryo blinked, suddenly acutely aware that he was in charge. A natural, he was not.

"Uh, I guess make sure no one tries to kill us?"

"Will do."

Ryo climbed back into the tunnel to Shuu. "Hang on, Shuu, Kiyose. We're going to get you out of here."

He put his hands on the concrete and began to work.

Go to Part 21


	21. Chapter 21

**Part Twenty-One--Zorra Reed **

* * *

Seiji frowned as he watched Ryo work from where he was leaning against a larger slab of concrete and rock well out of the way of the workers and Ryo's heat. From this spot he could easily keep an eye on the crowd as well as Shuu and the boy while he rested. _Always watching you're backs_, he mused, dust covered lips curving up in a smile.

Another forty minutes had passed since Ryo had somehow transported them into the heart of the dispersed mob. Time was running out and Seiji felt the anxiety of the people around him building. Everyone was tired, none more so than the Troopers, each pushing themselves to new limits. Seiji himself had taxed himself out and was forced to take a brake to replenish his energies and focus his mind.

Attention still on Ryo, Seiji realized the youth had stopped working and was inching closer to the wall running his hands over the dark surface. "I think another half-meter or so should do."

"What are you talking about?" Seiji asked, keeping his voice low.

Ryo jumped, startled, and turned his head to see Seiji had come up on his side and was staring at the opening he could now see. "Don't sneak up on me."

"Sorry," Seiji amended. "So, why did you stop?"

"Touma said to."

"Oh?" Seiji quirked an eyebrow and turned his attention to the armors. "Touma?"

"Hey guys," Touma's voice carried on the wind to the two Troopers. "We just had a small landslide on this side. It's actually a good thing, it's managed to crumble away some of the rock and has opened up a rather large opening on this side. But it's covered up the hole we had. We'll have to concentrate our powers to the center of it to punch through again. However once done we can go ahead and have enough to be able crawl through."

"We'd have to widen your end afterwards," Shin spoke up, "to get the injured out."

"I don't know, that could cause a lot of trouble," Seiji pointed out, eyeing the restless crowd.

Ryo turned to examine the gathering as well with a frown. "True, but it's better to save as many as we can while we can. Shuu said the structure wasn't stable and without him awake to help there's no way of knowing when it'll come down or if this area here is at risk."

"Come on guys, let's do this," Touma spoke again, making the decision for them.

"Right," Ryo agreed, cracking his knuckles and raising his hands in preparation of using his fire again.

"We need to hurry." Seiji whispered to Ryo. Smirking as the boy tried to suppress a tired yawn. Seiji himself was tempted to take a seat and rest. "If we're going to do this, I think it's best to usher the people out in groups one at a time as quietly as possible; starting with those closest to us. If we announce it then the crowd might riot, fighting to be the first out and too many people have been hurt already."

"Agreed."

Seiji stepped back then, realizing he wasn't going to be of any help to Ryo and watched as the Rekka bearer snapped his fingers together his flames jumping to life at their tips. "It really is amazing the way you do that."

Ryo grinned, directing his fire into the tunnel. "I know."

Seiji smirked and was going to retort when a low moan reached his sensitive ears over the sound of Ryo's fire. "Shuu..."

Go to Part 22


	22. Chapter 22

**Part Twenty-Two **

* * *

There was a steady sound that seemed to penetrate the darkness. What it was, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it was disturbing his rest. He was _so_ tired. And _sore_. He felt like his whole body was a large bruise that was getting worse with every heartbeat. He just wanted the darkness to engulf him again. He wasn't strong enough to deal with this right now.

What was that sound? It was annoying him. The pain got worse the more he could hear it, and for an irrational moment, he thought the noise was the source of his pain. Then he woke up even further and realized that he _was_ waking up. The ability to discern the sound was merely a sign of how awake he was. And he was waking up.

The sound was digging. And lots of it. There was also the steady flow of wind and water. And the smell of smoke. Even if he couldn't quite bring himself to open his eyes, he was aware of light. Just what the hell was going on? Oh yeah. The earthquake. The tunnel collapse. The jerk of a conductor...oh yeah.

This just wasn't his day.

"Slowly, now..."

"Easy, you don't want the baby getting dirty..."

Voices. "Ichiko, watch it..."

Ah, the couple. They were still doing well. Good. He had been so worried about them.

"Touma, how is the tunnel progressing?" The voice sounded like sunshine.

"We're still limited to smaller passengers, Seiji. After mother and child come through, we'll have to pause to make it larger again." A voice filtering on the wind.

"We can't keep this up much longer. It's taking longer and longer to get the strength necessary to do anything. The passengers already over here are getting restless. They want to get to safety." The sound of water dripping.

"Don't worry, Shin. We'll think of something." A burning fire.

"Why not just dig by hand?" That was Nijirou-san. His voice always rumbled in a gentle manner.

Wind whispered, "We're uncertain of the stability. That's why we stopped the bucket brigade earlier. It's shifting too much."

"We may not have much choice," water dripped. "I'm hitting my limit."

Slowly, he opened his eyes. There had to be something he could do. Slowly, he rolled over and Kiyose opened his eyes. He had to help Shuu-san.

That was when he realized just how badly his head was throbbing. He grunted and the certainty of it and for a moment he thought he coughed up blood. His senses were so screwed up he couldn't tell for sure. A crack rippled up his spine as he turned and he felt something pop in his shoulder. How long had he been out? The questions freaked him out, however, so he pushed it aside and got his arms underneath him; pushing himself forward and crawling to Shuu-san.

"Shuu-san." It sounded like a grunt, low and deep in his chest. "Shuu-san, there are people here. I think they are friends of yours. Ryo-san, Seiji-san, Shin-san, Touma-san. I... know these names somehow. They're tired. They need help. They need you.

"Shuu-san... you need to wake up."

The throbbing in his head was unbearable, and darkness finally reclaimed him.

* * *

Seiji turned around, looking back at the tunnel as the husband waited anxiously for news that his wife and newborn were alright.

"What was that?"

"Seiji?" Ryo was at his side, sweating from excursion. "What is it?"

"I thought I heard... but it is nothing." Surely, his mind was starting to play tricks on him. He had healed so many people that when he was done he literally couldn't see straight. The ease of the healing was a new welcome, an ability he had wanted desperately in their fight with Arago, but he was discovering the hard way that there was a limit to how much he could do. The brown and black energy that comprised the wounds had to go somewhere, and of _course_ they had gone right to the tunnel, making things more hazardous than they already were. But in the tunnel he had heard...

He shook his head again, putting the thought aside. The people in front of him were restless, to say the lease. Many were eying himself and Ryo wearily. Many were grateful to Seiji for his efforts, but the gratitude was offset by their abject fear of Ryo and anything associated with him - including Seiji.

"Get back to work, Ryo," he said softly. "I'll handle the people."

Ryo frowned, as he always did when he listened to an idea he didn't quite like. "If you need anything at all," he left it hanging.

"The cries of terror you hear, is that it?" Seiji smiled warmly. "I'll be fine."

Reluctantly, Ryo slid back into the tunnel, gently pushing Yorishin aside and getting back to work.

There was a low grunt, and Seiji watched with narrow eyes as the conductor, sleeping peacefully until now, sit up and rub his face. The Trooper did not go near him, instead looking safely from a distance. The man had hit Kiyose in the head with an iron pipe, Shuu in the hip, and had threatened to kill them all so that he could regain control of a situation he didn't even fully have the ability to handle. The blonde quietly ticked off the points he would make to the subway about this man to get him fired.

"What?" the man whispered. Several crew men and a few passengers went to him, no doubt reporting what had happened.

Seeing the steely glares at his direction, Seiji knew dissent when he saw it.

Sighing all the way, he touched base with the secretary-turned-nurse Kushinage before walking in that direction. He did not have keen hearing, like Touma or Anubisu, but he did pick out the words "fire breathing demon," "threatened," "kill before they do," and - the word that ticked him off the most - "gaijin."

"Is there something you need, gentlemen?" he asked politely, his voice slightly louder than normal.

The conductor and his five cronies snapped to attention, staring at him. Seiji waited.

"... No. Nothing," the conductor spat out.

A golden eyebrow raised. "I see you've gained some intelligence. Good. Do stay out of trouble until we're all above ground."

Seiji turned, stepping carefully back to the tunnel. His senses did not leave the conductor, however, and he rolled his eyes when he felt the attack. Seiji blocked the punch - glared daggers when he saw the chunk of concrete in the crazed man's hand - and locked his violet eyes to the man.

"Perhaps he was not clear," he said again, ever calm. "It would not be a good idea for you or your... lackeys... to start a fight. For one, you will loose for reasons that should be obvious." Seiji tightened his grip to prove the point. "Second, it would drive all these people into a panic; people you are responsible for. I'm sure you wouldn't want that, because it wouldn't be us that they would try to lynch. It would be you. Do you understand now?"

Three other cronies moved in, and Seiji quickly spun around, throwing the conductor over his leg in a martial move and moving quickly into a roundhouse kicked. They staggered back, not expecting the move. The two others moved in, one high and one low. Seiji dodged over the low and landed onto the high, flipping over him and then clocking the jerk in the back of the neck. He moved to block another punch and stepped inside his opponent's circle, taking him down. It was a straightforward fight - there was little challenge aside from having five fighters at once. He smirked, though, because it was nothing compared to fighting hundreds of Youjakai soldiers.

The conductor looked on, white in terror.

"I did warn you," Seiji said coolly, standing over the incapacitated men.

"You... you really are a demon."

"If that's how you can sleep with yourself at night when you think about how you tried to kill people, then think what you want."

Seiji walked back to the tunnel to see what Ryo was doing.

Go to Part 23


	23. Chapter 23

**Part Twenty-Three**

* * *

Shin watched worriedly as Imiko-san and her baby rested on the subway tracks. Premature birth was nothing to sneeze at, and though Seiji had given them a clean bill of health, the Trooper wasn't so sure that he would do the same thing now as he watched her breathing become deeper and more ragged.

Not able to do anything about that, however, he turned back to Touma - who was now looking downright gaunt and haggard. Twenty years had been added to his face over this exertion; and Shin was certain he looked no better. There was a burst of wind, and his blue haired friend finally slumped back.

"That should do it," he panted.

Shin crawled over and pulled Touma out of the tunnel, laying him gently with Imiko-san. Going back, Shin looked for himself and saw that the tunnel was now big enough for him to crawl through on his hands and knees, instead of his pushing on his stomach. A wide grin crossed his face, and he felt an energy surge up that he hadn't felt in what felt like days; even though it had only been several hours.

"Hey, Ryo! Seiji!" he called, glad he didn't need Touma to carry his voice. "I think we're set!"

"We noticed," Ryo called back. "We were waiting for you're okay!"

Shin could hear the fire Trooper begin organizing the survivors, and it wasn't long before a woman in a dusty and slightly tattered and bloody business suit emerged.

"I'm Kushinage," she offered, climbing back to her feet.

"The doctor," Shin said, "good. Look at Imiko-san. I don't think she's doing well."

Next to arrive was said woman's husband; and others as they crawled their way to freedom. There were several uninhibited cries of joy, people jumping up and down and cheering and hugging and dancing, not a few broke into a run, knowing the station was half a kilometer of uninterrupted track away. Shin wondered dimly what time it was as the elated feeling began to wash over him, filling his otherwise empty spirit. _This_ was a feeling he never had after saving the world. This odd lightness of knowing he had done good, and that people _knew_ he had done good - even if they didn't recognize him outright, they knew that they were safe now, and it was their happiness that he had missed previously. It was part of what hurt in being a Trooper, to do good and have nothing to _show_ for it. Now, he could look back and see that these people had been happy to be saved, and it was a memory that he would always treasure.

"It a really good feeling you're having."

Startled, Shin turned to see Ryo beside him. "What?"

"That happiness you're feeling. It's sort of... broadcasting through the yoroi. It's a good feeling, isn't it? I felt it every time I knew that you all were okay."

And suddenly, Shin's smile widened even more.

He looked around and saw that Touma was sitting up again, but clearly in no straits to walk. Stepping over, he pulled an arm over his shoulder and pulled gently, waiting for him to get his legs under him. He saw that Seiji held Kiyose on his back, and that Ryo was carrying Shuu. Just like Ryo, Shin felt.

"I don't want to dampen such high spirits," Seiji said softly as they began their walk back to the train station. "But the conductor and his followers were one of the first to dash away. If the authorities have finally arrived, then they will be the first to give their twisted version of events. We can take off our undergear, but Shuu..." he left the sentence hanging.

Even through the elation, Shin's stomach dropped and fell away. To laugh off a story of demons was one thing, to find Shuu in strange armor suddenly made the crazy sound plausible. Even Shin, with his clothing soaked from his journey over here, could explain it away; same with Seiji and his facial burns. But Shuu, indeed... The only one to take off the undergear was the wearer itself, and with Shuu unconscious, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Shin looked to his friend in deep worry.

Touma coughed beside him, wincing with each hack. "Take it easy," Shin murmured. "We're exhausted enough. We just need to get to the station."

"Tell that to my overactive brain," Touma grunted. "But I'll try."

There was another small cough. It wasn't like Touma's, in fact, it didn't sound like any of the Trooper's usual coughs. Ryo lifted a hand and a small ball of fire appeared, lighting the dark tunnel. As one, they all looked over to the small, bloody, dirty high school student that had been helping out Shuu since the first earthquake, all those hours ago.

"Shuu-san," was the small voice.

"Kiyose?" Seiji asked gently. "Are you awake?"

"...hurts..."

"I know," the Korin Trooper replied quietly. "I'm doing what I can for that."

Shin set Touma down and jogged off to find Kushinage.

"Shuu-san...?"

"He'll be fine," Ryo replied, shuffling over to Seiji and the student, shifting Shuu's weight on his back. "He just needs a nap."

"…helped us all….had to help him from conductor……"

"And you did admirably," Seiji whispered. "And as much as you might want to fall back asleep, we need to keep you awake. You took quite a nasty hit to the head."

"Shuu-san's friends, right?"

"Yes," Ryo smiled. "I hope Shuu has only told you the good stories."

Shin returned with the businesswoman-turned-nurse. Kushinage immediately took out a pen light and checked Kiyose's eyes while Shin helped up Touma again.

"Well," she said lightly, "I don't think you have a concussion, though I am no doctor. You need to stay awake until we can get you proper medical treatment."

"Don't worry about that," Ryo reassured. "We'll take care of it. You keep helping the other wounded."

She nodded and turned to walk back. Pausing, she looked back, "You have been a blessing from the gods. Though others may not, I thank you for all you have done." She bowed before going back to the other passengers, putting an arm around Nijirou briefly.

With smiles on their faces, there were three flashes of light. Seiji, Touma, and Shin still looked quite the mess, but they were out of their undergear.

"So, Kiyose," Touma offered, exhaustion heavy in his voice, "how do you know Shuu?"

Conversation started as they trekked forward, Ryo's fireball providing light and his undergear giving him the strength he needed to carry Shuu. Seiji offered a steady stream of strength and soon, Kiyose was talking more or less normally.

"I remember hearing Shuu-san talking," he mumbled. "I'm not sure what he was saying, but he was talking. I needed that..." he twitched on Seiji's back. "Gods, I'm sore…."

"That's alright," Seiji replied. "You've been through an ordeal. It's only natural that your body will reflect that pain."

With a snap, Ryo's fireball went out, sending their attention forward.

"We must almost be at the track," Touma stated, still slumped against Shin. "The light must be the rescuers, or EMTs or something."

"Go on ahead," Ryo stated. "I'll stay with Shuu."

"I'm not leaving Shuu-san," Kiyose muttered. "He saved me; I've got to do something for him."

"He wouldn't see it that way," Shin murmured. "We're not leaving you behind, Ryo. Shuu needs attention. We need to get the armor off."

"Why not just dress him," Nijirou rumbled, appearing in the dark with a flashlight.

Touma shook his head weakly. "The doctors will have to undress him to get to some of his injuries."

"I'm not leaving Shuu-san," Kiyose repeated weakly. "He reached out to me when I was lost, I won't leave him…. I want to visit him in Chinatown…."

"Of course!" Touma straightened as an idea entered his mind. "We might be able to do something."

"Like when I reached out to Ryo," Seiji murmured.

"But we're exhausted," Shin interjected. "I doubt I even have the strength to summon the undergear, let alone do what you're suggesting. Even when we called upon Kikoutei, that took a lot of energy and strength and us all in full armor."

Ryo gently put down Shuu, cushioning his head against him as best he could. "We won't know until we try."

* * *

Kiyose looked on from where he was propped up against the wall with Kushinage and Nijirou. The four friends of Shuu-san had encircled him, with the one still in that strange armor placing his hands on Shuu-san's head.

"I still believe I should be the one to do that," the blonde with the voice of sunshine stated.

"I'm the only one still in undergear. It will drain you too much to try and call it up now."

"Think of it as pushing something back instead of pulling it forward," the breathy voice said.

"This is going to be difficult," the water dripped.

The three watched as the four fell silent, eyes closed. Nothing happened. Well, nothing that Kiyose could see. But he could _feel_ something. There was _power_ emanating from those four, and a _lot_ of it. And this was then when they were tired? Kiyose would hate to see them at their peek. Or perhaps, he would be awed. Well, more awed than he was now….

As the energy continued to build, Kiyose felt some sort of pressure, like a pushing sensation. It must be working! Shuu-san would go back to normal and they could finally leave the tunnel! In a moment there would be a flash of light and they'd finally get help.

The one with the windy voice was the first to fall; his face tight in concentration slacked as he toppled forward onto Shuu-san. The one with the sea-colored eyes soon followed, gasping, sweating, and falling.

No! The power was fading, it wasn't going to work! Kiyose wouldn't leave Shuu-san, he had to be able to _do_ something!

The blond tumbled, a hand still reaching out to whatever they were looking at. That left the armored one alone to work. His face was etched in concentration, sweat pouring from his face and his sweat-matted hair whipping in some sort of unnatural wind that Kiyose, Nijirou, and Kushinage couldn't feel. Around his armor a different armor outline seemed to pulse. There was silence as the only one left started to cough.

The pushing sensation ebbed, disappearing. Kiyose felt a tear go down his cheek as the pent up emotion of the day collapsed and washed over him. Shuu-san would be left behind. Or captured. He'd never see the Chinaman again; never get to talk about all the torment they had gone through together that day that only he seemed to understand. No……

With the pushing gone, another feeling seemed to stir. One of pulling. Wait, wasn't that what the windy one said was the opposite of what needed to be done? What?

Another cough. "Shuu... we need you..."

And the last fell forward, armor cracking and shattering into cherry blossoms.

"No," Kushinage whispered, crawling forward. Nijirou hurried after her. Kiyose gathered his strength and managed to twitch a toe. This couldn't be. They were heroes, they had to survive...right?

"Shuu-san?" Kiyose called out. "Is Shuu-san alright?"

Kushinage gasped. "It worked! He's back in his clothes!"

Kiyose offered a prayer to whatever god had given them these heroes. "And the others?"

The answer was a lot longer in coming.

"Touma-kun is having trouble breathing. Shin-kun looks severely dehydrated. Seiji-kun's face burns are looking worse and Ryo-kun seems to have a very high fever."

Nijirou took off toward the station. They were going to need stretchers.

Go to Part 24


	24. Chapter 24

**Part Twenty Four**

* * *

"Ow."

His hip was killing him; so was his leg. Hell, he felt sore all over. He smelled dried blood up his nose, and there was the taste of mud.

There was also weight. A lot of weight on his body. It was dark when he opened his eyes, but it sure wasn't quiet.

"Shuu-san! Shuu-san!"

"...Kiyose?" Memories of the earthquake and the aftermath crashed through his head all at once, and he jerked up. "Kiyose! You're awake!" He couldn't see far, however, because there were several bodies atop him. In fact, they looked like...

"Ryo?? Seiji?! Shin! Touma!! Oi, wake up! You're crushing my ribs, get off!"

When they didn't respond, he got worried.

"Here, wait, like this." The business woman, Kushinage, and the crewman, Nijirou, helped slid his four best friends off. Movement was painful, but he looked to each of them. "They are exhausted," Kushinage explained. "And they are suffering from maladies like fever and dehydration, but it's not something the hospital will not dispatch with ease."

"Thank goodness," Shuu slumped visibly, and Kiyose did the same. "Where are we? How are the others? Did we get through the wall?"

"Thanks to your friends, yes," Nijirou replied. "You five are gifts from the gods; we surely would not have survived if not for you. We cannot thank you enough."

The blush came unbidden at the gratitude, but Shuu quickly took it in stride. "Yeah, well, the mighty Shuu-sama always saves the day! It's just another afternoon's work for us."

Everyone was smiling. "I'm sure it is," Kiyose said softly.

"Ah, here are the medics now." Kushinage stood and began waving her hands. "Hey! Over here! I have four unconscious people!"

"That's them! Those are the demons!!"

Everyone froze.

Two men in EMT uniforms rushed up, high powered flashlights and first aid kits in each hand. Behind them was, of course, the conductor. The vivid memory of him hitting Kiyose on the head, the boy falling to the ground and not getting up, the hours of being trapped with him in the tunnel, all welled up in Shuu.

"You fucking asshole!!" He rose to his feet and limped forward, grunting with each step. "You're the one that hit Kiyose with the freaking metal pipe! You nearly killed him! He might have a concussion! You hit me and we were trapped under the rubble. If it wasn't for you and your lunatic ravings we'd have been out of here much sooner!!"

"It's true," Kiyose said, still slumped against the wall of the subway tunnel. "He hit me on the head. I was trying to protect Shuu-san."

The medics were blinking; obviously someone had neglected to tell them about some of the conductors more violent actions over the course of the day.

"I was keeping the survivors alive. Look at those four and their demon armor. They tried to kill us!"

"As you can see," Kushinage said. "The four unconscious young men have no strange armor to speak of. Shuu-san called them and they came and helped dig us out from the other side of the cave in. They are suffering from exhaustion and need medical attention, as does Shuu-san and Kiyose-kun for the injuries that man," she pointed venomously to the conductor, "has caused."

Nijirou stepped forward. "If it weren't for Shuu-san, we'd all have panicked. He kept us moving, wouldn't leave anyone behind - unlike boss-san," he added viciously, throwing a glare, "and started digging us out with his friends. We owe him our lives."

"But, but!" the conductor started.

"We've heard quite enough," one of the medics said. She looked to his partner. "Get some of the others down here. They'll need to overnight at the hospital, get some fluids etcetera." Then she added, "and take him with you. I don't want him causing more damage than he already has."

"WHAT??" the conductor cried.

"Come on, sir; let's get you back above ground where it's safe." The male medic grabbed the conductor by the arm, more than a little firmly.

Shuu added his two cents. "And make sure he finds a nice, thick, rubber room to bounce around in! Asshole psycho!" His hip and leg finally gave out, and he pitched forward. "Damn it, I hope they throw the book at him."

"I'm sure they will," the medic said soothingly. "Here, let me look at you."

"I'm fine," Shuu waved off. "Look at my friends, Kiyose, Ryo, Seiji, Shin, and Touma."

"I must say," the medic replied. "You keep very handsome company. The best thing they need is a night at the hospital. It's you and Kiyose-kun who are more seriously injured."

"Then look at Kiyose," Shuu said, still waving her off.

"I'm fine," Kiyose tried to deny. "The light one, Seiji-san, uh, looked at me, he said. I'm sure I'm fine."

"Just like little boys," she smiled. "Ah, there's my partner."

The biggest surprise of the day, er, night as Shuu discovered, was when he and the others were carried out of the tunnel. Everyone that had been trapped with him on the subway had apparently been waiting for them, and as they became visible, the entire crowd erupted into one deafening cheer; clapping and whooping and yelling and jumping up and down. People bowed as they passed, thanking them as heroes or gifts from the gods or even gods themselves. Gratitude in every shape and form overwhelmed Shuu, and it took several minutes for him to fully understand what was happening.

His reaction was just the same, though.

He lifted his fists in the air and he cheered with them.

Go to Finale


	25. Chapter 25

**Part Twenty-Five - Epilogue**

* * *

At the hospital, Shuu was treated for a bruised bone on his hip, a hairline fracture in his leg, and a sprained wrist, along with many bumps, bruises, cuts, and all around ouches. Given how long he was lying in the dirt, the doctors had him on antibiotics. Kiyose did have a concussion along with his assorted cuts and bruises and severe blood loss. Yoshirin and Imiko were held overnight with their daughter Fujiko for observation, but were released the following day.

Shuu's family, who had been worried sick about Shuu all day, stayed with him through the night, asking him questions, checking on him, getting what he needed, and all around bugging him. He wouldn't have it any other way. The other passengers of the train were well taken care of. Doctors commented on how the injuries strangely looked more healed than they should, but nobody said a word. Nobody said a word either when Seiji, who had peeling facial burns, was perfectly fine without any scarring within two days. (Shuu suspected it took that long because of how utterly exhausted they all were. Damn, Suzunagi's armors were draining...)

Touma left a window open for a night and felt much better the following day. Shin insisted on the hospital releasing him, despite his IV of fluids. He even had to sign a waver form saying he wouldn't sue the hospital for leaving against advice. After spending an afternoon swimming around, he came back looking and feeling much better. Seiji and Touma, unfortunately couldn't stay long after they were released. They both had a long trek home and families worried about their sudden disappearances.

"Heading home already?" Shuu asked as they stopped in to say their goodbyes. "But we just got together again." He pouted.

Touma chuckled. "You have some way of calling a get-together, don't you?"

"Indeed," Seiji agreed. "But actually, this has spurned me on. In a few weeks, I'll take another weekend off from school and come back."

"Me too. That way," Touma added, "Your family can spoil us rotten at your restaurant for saving your heavy hide."

Shuu smiled brightly. "Maybe I should do this type of thing more often?"

"Hah."

"This a private party or can anyone join?"

"Hey Shin! Looking better!"

The water Trooper smiled. "Feeling better as well. My family wants to see me, but I have classes again, so they're picking up to come here this weekend for a visit. I've talked to my professors and I have an extension given the mitigating circumstances for my various assignments."

"Aren't you the lucky one," Touma mumbled. "My professors won't hear of it. Said there was no way I could be in Yokohama."

"Hey," Shuu said expansively, "it all turned out alright. Only one death..." the old man he had tried to cover during the initial quake... "And everyone is getting a clean bill of health. It wasn't a bad quake and Yokohama is doing fine."

There was a small moment of quiet, each still absorbing the various trials and tasks they had done and what they had discovered about each other, their armors, and gone through.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Shuu-san?"

"Kiyose! Come on in! You're always welcome."

The high school student was no longer in his uniform, but in casual clothes. A bandaged covered his forehead and an eye, but only as a precaution. Given how hard the good conductor had struck him, the doctors were being careful. Kiyose always visited Shuu around this time to talk. Shuu had offered his support initially for the trauma that the earthquake had caused. He hardly expected for Kiyose to become like a loyal puppy, following him around and hanging on his every word. Shuu had shared some of their adventures from their various times saving the world, with the others' permission, and was becoming almost like a nii-san to the boy as well as psychiatrist and friendly shoulder.

"Ryo-san sends greetings and expresses great desire to leave this hospital."

Shuu grinned. Ryo, being Ryo, had overtaxed himself further than any of the others in trying to help him remove his undergear. Between somehow absorbing the fevers that both he and Kiyose had, maxing out his power to help dig the hole, getting lost in the magma in the center of the earth, AND using every last ounce of strength he had to call Shuu back to consciousness, Ryo had needed a stay at the hospital almost as long as Shuu did. Needless to say, Ryo was getting restless.

"Da Ge!" And there was Rinfi. "I know hospital food sucks, so I brought some proper dim-sum." Da Ge - Chinese for eldest brother.

"Whoa, it's getting full in here," Shuu mumbled. "Rinfi! I'd like you to meet Kiyose. He's going to be working for us soon."

"Kiyose?" she turned. "It's a pleasure meeting you. Da Ge has told us a lot of good things about you. It will be a pleasure to have you as part of our staff."

Kiyose blushed and bowed. "Thank you...Shuu-san has done so much for me already..."

"Nonsense," Rinfi replied, casting a teasing eye at her brother. "You'd think he and Ryo-nii-san were in competition to see who could be more generous." She raised her hands and looked at her brother out of the corner of her eye. "Of course, Ryo-nii-san always seems to win, Shuu can never catch up."

"Rinfi," Shin admonished, "It's not a competition."

"What? I can't poke fun at Da Ge?"

"Aw, it's okay," Shuu chuckled. "She knows that I have all the good dirt on her. She won't overstep her bounds unless she wants me to tell everyone about the Cake Incident."

Rinfi reddened. "You _wouldn't_!"

Shuu just laughed along with everyone else.

"We're doing a fine job of being on our way, aren't we," Touma said, still chuckling.

"It's good that you're still here," Rinfi replied, her face serious. "I sort of wish Ryo-nii-san was here as well."

"What's wrong, Rinfi?"

"I came today to tell you about the conductor."

Silence fell over the room.

"He and his followers were cleared of any wrong doing due to 'the traumatic stress incurred through the strenuous circumstances that occurred'."

Shuu scowled.

"On a lighter note, the subway commission has quietly removed him from his position and he's been job hunting since."

"For all the trouble he caused," Shuu muttered, "I never wanted him to loose his job. He was just doing the best he could under bad circumstances."

"He is one who has not learned his virtues," Seiji added. "Nothing we said or did could have changed that."

Touma sighed. "Kinda puts a sour mood over this whole story."

Shin turned to Rinfi. "He doesn't know about your restaurant does he? He won't come after Shuu because he lost his job, will he?"

"No, he's in counseling along with the others," Rinfi replied. "Father went to court and talked to the judge and people involved. I'm not sure how he managed it, but our information has been sealed from the conductor. After all, he never did get Da Ge's full name."

"That's good, at least."

"Nijirou-san got a promotion as a result," Rinfi added, a smile appearing on her face once more. "He and Kushinage-san seem to be doing well together as well," she winked and nodded.

"Those two?" Shuu asked. "I'd never have thought..."

"Because you were asleep for so long," Touma teased. "You and your snoring!"

"Hey!"

"It was rather loud," Shin agreed, a large smile on his face.

"You too? Shin! Seiji, back me up here!"

Seiji stoically looked to Shin and Touma, raised an eyebrow and said, "At least he wasn't as bad as Kiyose." That sent everyone into peels of laughter.

Touma glanced at his watch. "Ah, I hate to laugh and run, but I'm going to miss my train at this rate."

"We'll see you in about three weeks," Seiji added. "Try to stay out of trouble until then."

"I should be going as well," Shin agreed. "I may have a break, but I still have a lot of work to make up."

"Be safe," Shuu replied, waving his good wrist goodbye.

"We're not the ones to worry about," Touma called over his shoulder. "Try not to be stuck in any more earthquakes, alright?"

"Heh. Only if you don't get caught in any tsunami!" Shuu called back. He sighed happily to himself. He'd be out of the hospital by the end of the week and life would finally be back to normal. He'd have to schedule a trip up to Hokkaido to help recharge his armor, but things were finally starting to look up.

**The End**   
Go to Author's Notes


End file.
